


this is where it ends

by minyardss



Category: tatbl, to all the blood lost
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, original - Freeform, teenfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:28:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25333168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minyardss/pseuds/minyardss
Summary: Heroes are meant to be people who are fit to save the world.None of them are-they're busy fighting their own battles-not physically, but mentally.Andrea Paige, element of air, trying her best to stay alive despite both her father and brother not wanting anything more than her to be dead.Adrien Jayde, element of fire, on the losing side of a battle against depression for four years.Simon Jayde, element of earth, struggling to figure out his sexuality and trying stay afloat the ranks of society, while desperately trying to be different.Micah William Edwards, element of water, failing to admit to himself that he was truly in love with the person he wanted since he was eight.And the last elemental, aether, which they had failed to find for eight years-only to realize that it was because they had looked too early...
Comments: 12
Kudos: 21





	1. zheng wei ling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's their first year at wayvern and there's a boy staring at andrea- she knows him, from both her memories and from her dreams.

PROLOGUE  
There was a boy staring at her.  
Wei Ling had seen him once before, during one of the many business meetings her father had forced her to attend. Of course, she had been forced to talk with both his parents, Natalie and Malcolm Edwards- she remembered them, but no one had ever told her the boy’s name. To her, for many years, he was simply the boy with no name that came and went in her dreams.  
Next to her, her best friend, Adrien Jayde held on to her arm tightly. And next to him was her other best friend, Simon Jayde. Both of them were looking everywhere but at her. She wished one of them would look at her and tell her that there was nothing to be afraid of.  
“Hello there,” A tall blond boy said to her. He looked a lot like the boy with no name, but much older. “I’m Kaidance Edwards. Nice to meet you- you must be Andrea Paige, am I right?”  
Wei Ling nodded at him.  
“So I assume these are the Jayde brothers? One of my brothers’ a hero too- his name’s Micah. He’s over there,”  
Kaidance pointed at the boy who was staring at her and the boy’s cheeks flushed red. He waved his younger brother over who obliged with utmost reluctance. Micah didn’t look much different than the last time Wei Ling had seen him- just a bit older and his blue eyes didn’t shine quite as bright.  
Simon suddenly popped up from behind her, reaching out a hand to the boy. “Hi, I’m Simon Jayde,”  
The flush hadn’t faded from Micah’s cheeks. “Micah William Edwards. Nice to meet you,”  
"Well, isn't that wonderful- we've got a full set this time! Maybe I’ll go down in history books with you guys. Anyways, back to you other kids. Form eight lines, the rest of you lot. Do all of you have your identification cards hangin' round your necks?" Kaidance said.  
The first-years mumbled in agreement.  
"So below your address, if you have one, there should be your district number. If you're from district two, line up on my right side. If you're from district nine, on my left. Everyone from three to eight, line up in between- six different lines, got it? Chop-chop, the others are waiting for you,"  
Gryffin hall was bigger than she had expected, from the little bits and pieces her mother had told her. In basement five and four, the bottom floors of the building, were the meeting rooms. On the floor above it was the art store, followed by the pharmacy and on the first basement, the grocery store. The ground-level had the assembly auditorium, the administration offices and the cafeteria. The second floor had the two main libraries and the Hall of Heroes. The highest floor had the offices for both staff and the student council.  
Everything the students would ever need could be found in within the school grounds; their security and protection was prioritized in a way that they could only leave school grounds on holidays or with a Permission To Leave School Grounds slip signed by both the headmaster and headmistress themselves.  
Before Wayvern, she had almost never gone anywhere else. Wei Ling had been home schooled by her mother up until she was six, then she was left to learn by herself through random schoolbooks she had found in their house library. It was a lonely and sad life indeed, but it had always been one worth living. She wouldn’t trade it for anything.  
“I’m scared,” Adrien mumbled in French- she barely heard him.  
To say that she herself wasn’t scared would have been a lie. Yet, it was Adrien that she was pretending to be braver for. Adrien who was afraid of crowds and of dark rooms; Adrien who was afraid of rooms with closets in them and who couldn’t bring himself to be brave even for himself. It was something worth pretending to be, even if it meant pretending that she felt okay when she wasn’t.  
“It’s going to be okay,” She mumbled in Chinese in a low voice. “Just hold my hand,”  
Adrien squeezed her hand tightly.  
Micah was still staring at her. It was a few moments before he finally opened his mouth once again and spoke to her.  
“Zheng Wei Ling?” he asked. “I remember you,”


	2. andrea paige

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrea goes back to Wayvern. Simon, Adrien and Micah are introduced.

ONE - ANDREA  
There was a boy in her room.  
Andrea didn't bat an eyelash before using the wind around them to shove him harshly off the bed and onto the wooden floor with a loud thump, followed by a loud groan, echoed throughout the entire room. The tingly feeling in the pit of her stomach, which she felt whenever she used her powers, quickly subsided.  
The blond boy let out a grumble of complaint as he clambered back up to his feet clumsily, straightening out his collared-shirt. "Well, aren't you glad to see me,"  
She spared him a brief glance, her grey eyes meeting his sea-blue ones for a brief second before looking back down at the kitten.  
"Hello, Micah. Have you met Blue-blue?"  
Gently, she placed the black cat on the bare mattress, shrugging her brand-new backpack off her right shoulder. It collided with the floor audibly; her father hadn’t let her use anything she used the year before, including the black backpack she had been particularly fond of. "A Zheng is not going to be seen wearing something used, Wei Ling. Stop asking me things you know the answer to," her father had said.   
Micah Edwards grinned, dropping onto his scabby knees in front of the bed's left white wooden frame.  
As she walked away, Andrea watched the pair out of the corner of her eye. She had to fight off a grin that threatened to form on her face as the mass of black fur attempted to scratch her friend in the eye, barely a second after he tried to pat its head. Blue-blue was feisty compared to the other five cats she shared with her best friend, Adrien- Carrot, Soonie, Dory, Milo and Chatte. Even its mother, Chatte, and father, Dory, had nowhere the attitude it did.  
Andrea tugged off her crimson-red blazer and hung it over her shoulder. Not much was in her closet, just her school uniforms, sweaters, jeans, school skirts, school trousers and sweatpants. At the end of every school year, her brother, Ryland, would come over and empty out her closet, disposing of everything in there. Bravery had always been something she struggled with- perhaps the only thing she had ever done that ever hint of it was when she would make both Jayde brothers, Adrien and Simon, take whatever they wanted from her closet, rather than everything going into the trash.   
Simon would often cut up the shirts, sewing them back together into something beautiful or something that would at least make a fashion statement, while his older brother, Adrien, had a tendency of wearing whatever she had as what it was, not caring that it was probably a few sizes too small, clinging to him tightly.   
It had always been hard to stand up to both her father and brother who both took advantage of how terrified she was of the two. Being Adrien's best friend, however, had certainly helped. Over the years, she had managed to fear them less and less, trying to stand up for herself every now and then. She didn't feel as scared as she had before she met him, ten years ago. Adrien had always made her feel much braver.  
She hadn't gotten the chance to pick up her Lahey uniforms at the Lahey counter on the first floor of the sports building- she made a mental note to pick it up first thing in the morning, maybe even popping into her coach's office to say hello.   
Lahey was a form of modified lacrosse, much more aggressive, that was popular among the 'blessed', which was the population of the earth that was born with powers 'blessed' by the Greek Gods. Andrea loved every loved every single part of the sport, from the sound of the wind rushing past her ears to the satisfaction of shooting a perfect goal, and even to the sheer ruthlessness of the players once they were on the court. The people they were on and off it wasn’t the same. A single, seemingly miniscule, mistake could lead to an immediate defeat. That was the fun part- risks. Lahey training was as rigorous as could be, reaching up to four hours a day before an important big match against other schools worldwide or even just in the country.  
Micah just so happened to be the goalkeeper on the opposing school team- the Crows.  
He was slightly more than half a foot taller than her, standing at 6'1. If he had been an offensive or defensive player, his height would have benefitted him more than it did at the position he played then. Back in the fourth year, when all students were first permitted to try out for the Lahey teams, he had fought for the goalkeeping position and won immediately. Andrea admitted it; he did have a sharp eye and fast reflexes.   
He had pure talent and won his place on the court rightfully.  
Andrea picked up the grey cotton sweater her aunt Isla had gotten her during one of their winter break shopping trips to the mall.  
"Feisty, isn't he?" Micah said.  
She turned to face him.  
"She," Andrea corrected with a hint of sarcasm. "Respect the cat’s pronouns, Edwards,"  
The blond rolled his eyes at her. "You get my point,"  
"You aren't making any,"  
"I am,"  
"Shut up and get out of my room- but say sorry to Blue-blue first,"  
After kicking him out of the room (very much against his will) and making sure the little cat was comfortable on her bed (he finally did agree to apologize to the cat, to which the cat tried to scratch him again in return), she went out to the hallway and took a left turn, passing the bathroom she shared with Simon and turning right. Adrien Jayde's bedroom was right at the end of the hall, across Simon Jayde's. The two were brothers, though not by blood, as Isla Jayde had taken in both Adrien and his little sister, Lylou, 10 years ago when the boy was eight and the girl was only one.  
Nights when she slept in her own room were rare. Ones where she could sleep peacefully, without being jolted awake by nightmares or someone else, were even more so. After nearly sixteen years of being alive, her brother and father scared her more than anything else in the world.  
In another life, maybe Ryland would have been left untouched by the hatred and resentment her father felt towards her. For as long as Andrea could remember, her father, Ezra, had hated the sight or anything to do with her. Ezra had given her away like property to her younger brother the moment Ryland had been born. Andrea couldn't recall a moment where she felt like her own person instead of someone else's.  
Her mother had tried to do something about it in the past; Andrea knew that. But the Paiges or the Zhengs were considered one of most powerful families in the country, probably even the world. Filing a court case against him would have been useless and an immediate loss, doing plenty more harm than good.  
There was simply no point in trying.  
Adrien Jayde didn't acknowledge her with even a single glance as she walked into the room, shutting the door behind her with small click. She was careful to check if one of their cats had walked into the doorway, just in case she would accidentally harm one of them. Andrea looked down at the ground where one of their cats, Milo, a brown tabby cat, was looking up at her with big eyes, pleading to be picked up. Doing as it wanted, she cleared her throat loudly, making her best friend finally glance at her with a bored look.   
In his lap was a ginger cat, Carrot, that was fast asleep with his tablet resting on top of its body. "Yes?"  
He looked back down at the screen, pausing the show he was watching. "I can get you in trouble for not turning your tablet in- you know that, don't you?"  
Andrea put the cat back down on the floor, which made it wail loudly.   
Other considered their friendship odd, constant arguments and seemingly cold conversations but it was one neither of them would trade for the world. During the coldest and darkest moments of their lives the Fates had given them the other as something warm and real to hold onto. Adrien's hand had always been the hand she held on the days which were overwhelmingly hard to get through, though sometimes it was only in her mind that she could hold him.  
Adrien was her favourite daydream- he was the one that kept her sane.  
The raven-haired boy gently let down Carrot, along with the silver coloured tablet, on the bed. Andrea stood a meter away from him, waiting for him to get up. She offered her left hand out to him, which he took and clasped tightly in both of his. When she tugged on her hand lightly, Adrien hesitantly let go.  
His gaze lingered at her hand a little longer.  
Andrea noticed that. "I'm sorry- not today,"  
"Don't say sorry. Nothing to be sorry about. Don't say sorry for things you shouldn't be sorry for,"  
That was their simple way of telling each other what they needed and wanted. A single word or phrase was always enough for them to understand the other.   
On good, better or decent days, Andrea would have accepted a more affectionate greeting. Maybe a kiss on the forehead, cheek or even a hug. After two months of barely any human contact besides her family and her uncles Matteo and Cassimir, loving gestures felt foreign and unfamiliar.  
Andrea didn't know why she still referred to her brother and father as family anymore- if Adrien knew, he would have yelled at her. Family was supposed to be the people who brought out the best in her, who appreciated her, who loved her infinitely. Neither of them had ever done either of that.  
Most of the time, they didn't even want anything to do with her.  
If she and Adrien's paths had never crossed, she would have never understood that how her father and brother treated her was wrong. There was no one to talk to and no one who could listen. She had grown up in the solitude of a mansion that was nearly empty, occupied by only four family members, including her, countless servants and the occasional guests. The thought of it being wrong had never occurred to her even once before she met him. Andrea had thought everyone went through the same thing- that every kid in the world went through the same things she did at home.  
No one knew what she went through- the people her father and brother pretended to be when they weren't alone weren't real. They were forced. To her, knowing the truth and what lied behind the charming smiles, it felt like bitter, rough medicine forced down her throat that she had no choice but to swallow, without having a single say. Seeing loving families were sharp jabs to the chest and straight to her heart. Adrien understood every part of that without having to try to.  
She let her hands fall to her sides, clutching the sweater tightly in her right one. Andrea took a seat next to Carrot while Adrien watcher her every move. Running her fingers through its thick fur, a loud purr erupted from its throat, clearly pleased at how her hand felt scratching his back. Milo jumped onto the bed and nestled itself on Andrea's lap.  
"Have you got any more?" Adrien finally said, sitting back down on the bed, resting against the headboard. "I can clean them for you, if you want. It's okay if you want to do it yourself,"  
Scars. Although the topic was discussed between the two on the daily, it didn't make it any more 'normal' or any less sensitive. Adrien had always said that loving her included loving her flaws, imperfections and her scars. They were part of her and they were goddamn beautiful; they were the markings of a rough childhood and a survivor. Adrien reminded her of that so often it almost made her feel brave.  
She nodded at him.   
"S'okay," She said in a low voice. "You can do it,"  
There was a sad glint in his eyes. "Is it okay if you show me?"  
About to mumble a reply, they were interrupted with aggressive knocks on the door. Andrea looked up just in time to see Simon burst in the door, eyes glinting with pure excitement and joy.  
"Dre, didn't you say you loved me?" Simon pouted. "why is it always him not me first?"  
She raised an eyebrow at him questioningly, though her lip was tugged in a small smile. "You were on the bus with me- Two rows behind me,"  
Under her breath, her best friend let out a curse under his breath directed at his younger brother.  
Simon's face fell as Andrea had to fight off a snicker. "Did he just insult me in French? Adrien, piss off. Don't be such an ass. No wonder eomma loves me more,"  
Without looking over, the girl knew Adrien made a mocking face at his brother, tempted to fuel Simon's displeasure even further.   
Sighing loudly, Andrea motioned the shorter boy in the door frame to come over before he jumped his brother. Simon happily scrambled over her, wrapping his arms around her neck and tackling her backwards onto the bed and purposely kicking his brother. Ignoring Adrien's loud snarl, he left a sloppy kiss on Andrea's forehead. He had always been much like a puppy; too happy and enthusiastic. She loved that about him much more than she would like to admit.  
In the background, Adrien let out a gagging noise. Andrea sent him a warning look, which he muttered 'traitor' at.  
"Gerroff me," she choked out, pushing him off and sitting back up. "Get off me! You're heavy. Can't breathe,"  
Simon rolled off Adrien's bed and onto the smaller one on its left side, where Andrea slept over almost every night. "I'm not heavy- you're just dramatic,"  
The only reason Andrea had always let him hug her anytime he wanted to was because he didn't understand what she went through- she didn't want to risk upsetting him or losing Simon as one of her only friends. Despite her frequent panic attacks he didn't know the reason of, the boy had always promised he would never leave her or even consider doing so. Simon didn't have a single hint of what being at home was like- if he did, maybe he would have understood why she was the way she was but she didn't want to risk the word spreading and her father treating her worse than he already did.   
Simon accepted her as she was, never once judging her for being herself.  
Andrea was flawed and had pieces of herself scattered everywhere, and even though he was whole and nearly perfect, he took her in as one of his best friends.  
Nobody understood or related to her the way Adrien did. He had undergone everything she did, sometimes even worse, back when he was still in his birth parents' care. Seeing him get out of the car, terrified look on his face, right in front of Isla Jayde's house the same time she and Ryland just so happened to be coming over was more than just a coincidence. The warm feeling that had erupted in her chest when their hands had first intertwined felt too much like home. He wasn't just a friend. He wasn't just family. They had always been so much more than just that.  
Andrea had found her soulmate.   
Soulmates weren't just people who fell in love, got married and lived happily ever after with each other; that was a common misconception. They were the people who matched you in a way that no one else ever would, was there for you during your darkest moments and still stayed with you, despite everything. If someone were to take half of her and switch it with half of him, both would still be two whole people.   
In a way, they were just the same.  
Simon let go of her, pushing the round, black frame of his glasses up his nose. Andrea had every little detail of him memorized, from how the freckles on his left cheek could be connected with lines by a marker to form Orion, the constellation, to how his nose and eyes scrunched up when he laughed. He and his mother had given her a place to come home to that actually felt like her own.  
"Hey Frenchie," Simon said, getting off the bed. "Micah said it's your turn to cook today,"  
"Well isn't it always?" Adrien made no effort to hide the annoyance in his face and tone. "Why don't you guys eat at the cafeteria, for the Gods' sake. The food there is decent,"  
Someone knocked on the doorframe- the aforementioned blonde boy.   
Micah stuck his head into the room. "Adri, it's almost lunch. I'm starved,"  
"Go cook for yourselves. There's mac and cheese in the top cupboard,"  
Simon smiled dangerously, a dark look in his eye. "I'll set the building on fire,"  
"Micah can put it out,"  
"You can't even pronounce his name right- he wouldn't help you. It's My-kah, not Me-kah, you idiot,"  
"Me-kah," Adrien insisted.  
"Me-kah is fine, thank you very much. But the thing is, well, I can't reach the top cupboard."  
"There's a ladder next to the sink-"  
"Hey," Andrea interrupted in a low voice. "Get out of the room,"  
Over the holidays, she had nearly forgotten how the four of them used to be. Memories of them had been replayed in her head too many times that they started drifting away, feeling like a pipe dream. Seeing her flat mates joke around like they always had made her feel like she was drifting away from what was real- that everything she was seeing right then and there was a mere hallucination.   
As if she was losing herself to what wasn't real.  
She scratched the ginger cat's neck. "I'm not going to repeat myself,"  
All of them knew better than to make Andrea upset. Those days when she were, were the worst. She didn't bring out her anger and frustration on anyone but herself- they could tell. Andrea would shut herself out from the world for days, sometimes even stretching out to weeks, only letting others communicate with her when they really needed to.  
It wasn't a tantrum.  
She just didn't want to hurt anyone the way her father and brother did to her.  
She couldn't risk losing any of her friends- they were the only things rooting her to sanity.   
Andrea turned to face the window on her right side instead, avoiding all of their eyes. The orange cat got up, nuzzling itself onto her lap. In the glass, she could see Simon reach his hand out to her only for Adrien to yank him back by the shoulder harshly. Simon opened his mouth to argue but his older brother clasped his hand tightly around his mouth.  
It was times like this that made her wish she was normal like Micah and Simon.


	3. micah william edwards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY; Simon's party in the POV of Micah. He leaves and goes to the lake.  
> (tw! self harm mentions!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DAMMIT I HAVENT WRITTEN ANOTHER CHAPTER AFTER THIS

THREE - MICAH  
Some days, Simon's parties just got too much for him.  
Flashing lights, shouting, people passed out on the bathroom floor, and of course, the thing that made him the most uncomfortable- how closely everyone was packed around him.  
Zheng Li Ji, Andrea's younger brother, who she (Well, and Adrien.) for some reason called Ryland, had ended up drunk and confessing his love to him for the eighteenth time (Or perhaps, nineteenth. Micah was bad at numbers.). Getting away from him was always a hassle- Li Ji would keep on trying to stretch out a (very much) dry conversation with him.  
That night had been no different.  
Micah had to pretend that he needed to go to the loo for the third time that night, just because of the youngest Paige.  
"So," Li Ji had said, earlier that night. "You're into guys too, right?"  
Micah sighed at the raven-haired boy. "No, to both questions. I'm not going to tutor you, nor am I interested in dating you or any guy in that matter. No offence, really,"  
It was times like those when he wished Li Ji was more like Andrea. Andrea was reserved, patient, and actually respected people's choices. Li Ji, on the other hand, was a constant irritance who never gave in to the fact that someone was uncomfortable and he was supposed to leave them alone. It wasn't a surprise that most people preferred his older sister over him.  
"Hey," he mumbled out to one of his friends, Karolyn, who took literature on Mondays with him. "I'm going to get some air,"  
The younger red-haired girl gave him a small nod, bringing a red plastic cup to her lips and taking a small sip. "Okay- I'm going to be here until one or two. If you need me, I'll be right here. Stay safe,"  
He grinned. "I will- besides, Wayvern's always safe,"  
Peeking into the living room from where he had escaped from Li Ji earlier, he was very much relieved to see that the raven-haired boy was nowhere to be seen. One of his other Lahey teammates, James Whittle, sent him a pleading look as a girl tried to engage him in a conversation. Micah offered him an apologetic smile, climbing on top of the kitchen counter, which was on the opposite side of the wall James was leaning against.  
With a click, the window opened and he stuck one foot out the window, before doing the same with the other. He landed clumsily on the grassy ground, stumbling forwards- the window was just two meters off the ground yet he never managed to stick a perfect landing. As his mother and older sisters always said, he had two left feet and could never walk right. (A joke, obviously. He loved them- he truly did, but they all made the worst jokes.) (They made dad jokes too much. Even his dad was tired of their bad jokes.)  
His best friend, Simon, had been right next to the entrance, feeling up his girlfriend, Lyla Moores. She had transferred to Wayvern three years ago from one of the normie-blessed private schools in Sydney. Lyla had brunette hair, green eyes and a smile that Micah admitted was rather cute. To add to that, she was one of the nicest people he knew. She never minded helping him out with math homework (He was awful at algebra) (If hell was a subject it would be math).  
Even if he had told Simon he needed some alone time, the Korean boy would have been too drunk to decipher what Micah was saying. Micah had talked to him about his (very much illegal) underage drinking habits, trying to convince the boy to give it up.  
It never succeeded, no matter how much he tried.  
He had always been rather stubborn and hard-headed. The only person Simon Jayde ever listened to was his own mother, Andrea Paige and nobody else. He rarely even listened to his own best friend of eight years. It would have hurt more, if it were not the fact that Andrea listened to him, and if she did, Simon listened to her to listen to him, which was enough.  
Cold air stung his exposed arms, face and neck as he ran on the concrete pathway, past district two and right into the forest. Running was the only ways to ensure a very much safe (Not from creatures. From those annoying 'fans' of his who would never seem to leave him alone) (He wasn't even a celebrity- why did he have fans? It made no sense) and quick trip past the trees and towards the lake.  
Just because he was cold (Like, literally. Aristotle would never sleep in the same bed as him because whenever Micah put his leg over him, he ended up jolting awake due to how cold his younger cousin was), it didn't mean he felt it any less than anyone else did. Actually, he felt it even more.  
September seventeen used to be his favourite day of each year.  
At that date, every year, it was his first day back at Wayvern. Always the same- never a day earlier or later. On that day, eight years ago, he had been told that his hobby (It was more of a lifestyle, actually.) could and would amount to something. Writing had always been the one way he could freely express himself without getting frustrated from stumbling over his words.  
Eight might have been to early an age for kids to know what they wanted to be once they got older, but Micah had always known a writer was what he wanted to be once got older. Most kids wanted to be doctors, police, chefs- common, ordinary and achievable jobs. Ones that were believable. It was hard to convince people that writing wasn't just a phase or a temporary hobby. Writing had always been part of him; without it, he would probably never amount to anything.  
It was, until 2052.  
That was when he lost his sister and when he almost lost Aristotle too.  
Shui Lake had always been one of his favourite places in the entire school, next to classroom 121 A (where he had first befriended Andrea) and his own room. Most nights, the docks were empty. That just left him, the stars, the moon, the creatures in the water, and his own reflection on the surface of the lake. Being alone scared him, though sometimes, it was just what he needed. It was one of the places that the teachers never checked at night, so it was one of the safest places to go to avoid getting in trouble.  
Wayvern was built to use up the land it was built on as efficiently as possible. Despite being the second biggest blessed school in the world, the buildings were not stretched out far from one another. Instead, they were all in within walking distance of each other, ensuring that transferring between classes were quick.  
The med hut, where students who had accidents playing Lahey and soccer were brought, was the furthest structure from district one and it was still only a fifteen-minute walk away at most, unless you took your time and started conversations with the other students. Shui Lake was a ten minute walk away, at the edge of the school border's, right where the school met the entrance of the Forest of Light, if you took the shortcut behind Aloysius hall and passed by the picnic tables.  
There was a familiar figure sitting at the edge of the docks, feet grazing against the surface of the dark waters.  
Without having to think or ponder on who it was, his mind immediately recognized it as his oldest flat mate. Andrea's grey sweater, very much too small and tight on the boy. Hoodie tight over his head. It was obvious it was the older Jayde brother. Seeing him there, away from where the party and the life was made him feel glad for a second, that he wasn't the only one who wasn't, before being replaced with the sharp feeling of guilt gnawing at the bottom of his stomach.  
Deciding not to interrupt what was probably one of the boy's rare private moments, Micah slowly backed away, trying not to stumble over his own feet. Of course, much to his luck, it didn't do much at all. His left foot crossed his right, causing him to stumble backwards, nearly ending up on the ground. He cursed himself mentally.  
Adrien flinched visibly. "I know it's you, Will,"  
His throat ran dry- he couldn't find his own voice.  
The French boy turned to face him, eyes glossy with tears. In his chest, Micah's heart did a painful jolt. No matter who it was, seeing someone genuinely cry would always hurt. Especially if it was someone who meant something to him. Especially if it was someone who was more than just a friend.  
But most of all, it was especially if it was the only person outside his family who called him by his middle name.  
Adrien had always been special.  
Toxic masculinity had never been a direct issue to him growing up. If he wanted to, Micah could wear skirts or dresses. He could cry without being called feminine. He could be himself, as long as he wasn't hurting anyone else. There was no such thing as boys had to be tough or girls were weaker than boys or only girls wore skirts. There was no such thing as something that was just meant for girls or something that were just meant for boys.  
That wasn't the same case for Aristotle, though.  
Brought up under the care of Emelie and Harrison Edwards for ten years, his older cousin had always been one of the strongest and bravest people he knew. Harrison had always had anger problems since he was a young child, much unlike any of his other 4 siblings- Malcolm, his father, his aunt Lynette, his uncle Evan, and his late uncle Eiden. None of the other ones had turned up that way- the Edwards were raised to be polite, kind and empathetic towards those in need.  
The second-youngest Edwards was the opposite. Harrison had never been fit to be a father- the moment his wife had gotten pregnant with Aristotle, Micah's Nan and Pops knew it wouldn't end well. Fast forwards ten years later, he was removed from his parents' care and raised by his grandparents instead. It had always been the better choice.  
No one other than their immediate family knew about the removal of the boy from his own parents'- Christopher Burke and Willow Edwards would do anything to ensure that their children and grandchildren had a bright future, safe from harm’s way. Even if it meant disowning one of them, who had done nothing more than leave both physical and emotional scars on a child who had never done anything wrong. Harrison and Emelie had been ruled dead for eight years, yet in reality, no one in the family knew where on earth they were.  
"What are you waiting for?" Adrien grumbled. "Sit down, you blunderhead,"  
Adrien had never had a friendly tongue.  
"Sorry,"  
"It's fine. Just come sit down. You look stupid standing like that,"  
Micah walked down the dock, up until where Adrien was sitting. He slowly lowered himself onto the wooden floor, dangling his feet off the edge, just almost skimming the surface of the water. Up until then, he had forgotten that the Jayde boy was taller than him by a few inches.  
Staring off into the distance, watching the water ripple as it reflected off the stars and the moon; Nights just hit different when people were alone- every little thing was beautiful. Sometimes, it wasn't even the big things in life that were beautiful; it were the smallest things'  
"What brings you here? You're usually the life of the party," Adrien asked, fiddling around with his hands resting on his lap.  
Micah stayed silent for a second, trying to find the right words to say.  
"I don't like packed places," he said. "Too many people. Makes me uncomfortable. I can barely breathe,"  
Adrien had a look Micah couldn't read, which he could barely make out in the dark. "Finally- someone who understands,"  
A metallic scent hit his nose so fast and sudden that the blond boy let out a cough. Adrien eyed him oddly. Iron. Blood. Something he knew all too well that he could recognize it in a heartbeat. Micah took in a deep breath, trying to figure out where it was from. Adrien eyed him oddly.  
He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, throwing his head backwards. Another breath. Micah could find out it was somewhere from Adrien. Maybe his leg, from a fall. But no- it was somewhere higher up. His arm. His left wrist.  
Micah's face paled. If it had been anywhere else than the boy's wrists, he would have shrugged it off. This time, he couldn't. What if Adrien was like Aristotle and Natalia? What if he was depressed? No. He couldn't have been. Micah would have realized. He would have. He would have smelled it before.  
Right?  
"Hey," Adrien said. "You're shaking. Are you okay?"  
His eyes shot open.  
"Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine,"  
"You don't seem fine,"  
"Don't worry. I am,"  
That was a lie. Micah wasn't fine. He knew Adrien knew that too, though the boy didn't ask again. .He had almost lost Aristotle twice. He lost Natalia. Micah couldn't risk losing Adrien either. The two had never been exactly close but that didn't mean he cared any less about him. Forever and always would he give a fuck if anything happened to him.  
Even if it took everything away from him, Micah would give Adrien something solid to hold on to.  
The odd thing was that sometimes, heroes were their own villains.  
Confrontation wasn't the right thing to do. It had never been, with Aristotle. Micah forced in a sharp, shaky breath, getting up onto his feet. He had to keep him safe. The blond reached a hand out to the raven-haired boy. Adrien gave him an odd look before taking it. His hand was warm, like a summer's night.  
"Let's go back inside," Micah said. "It's freezing,"  
Adrien let the blond's voice fade into the silence.  
Taking it as an agreement, Micah walked into the forest, hoping the boy was following after him. In his mind, he made a silent promise to himself that he would make sure that he would give Adrien a reason to stay. It may have been selfish, yet at that moment nothing else mattered than keeping him alive. He was too young to go- too young to feel exactly how Natalia did. The idea of someone feeling the same way Natalia did; the same way that led her to her successful attempt, hurt incomparably to anything else in the world.  
Fear was the only thing Micah had known to stay.  
He didn't want to lose anyone else.  
He couldn't.


	4. andrea paige

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrea's POV of the party. Her trying to talk with Willa. She actually gets the chance to be an older sister.   
> (tw!! mentions of sexual assault/attempted rape!!)

FOUR - ANDREA  
“You know we’re still hosting the party at eight, right?”  
Andrea rolled her eyes at him. “You’re hosting it. There is no we, Simon,"  
“Fine whatever,” he elbowed her side lightly as the brunette girl stared up at the ceiling. “Besides, it doesn’t hurt to have fun you know? Hey, maybe you'll get a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend, for that matter. Or a themfriend. Sounds great. You'll have someone other than just Adrien,"  
"Not happening."  
"It's been nearly three years. It's time to get over her. She was fucked in the head anyways- they're not going to be like her,"  
She didn’t reply.  
It had always been a better choice for her to pretend she couldn’t feel until she convinced her mind it was true. Andrea had always felt too much- she couldn’t bare the guilt and throbbing pain in her heart whenever she took in another breath. Pushing her feelings away until she was numb to the world was addicting, though she didn’t know how hard it would have been to stop back when she started.  
The last time she had let herself feel anything properly was back in early April and it was unintentional- five months had passed.  
She had forgotten how to feel again.  
Simon tapped his fingers lightly on her arm, lying next to her. She let him. For as long as she could remember, he had been the one to let her cry onto his shoulder without ever asking why or what was wrong. The best thing about Simon Jayde had always been that he listened, yet never asked. He had given her a family that felt more real than her own and a warm bed to sleep in when she was kicked out of her home.  
Without him, life would have been unbearable. Luckily for, both their mothers had been best friends since both women were in their first years at Wayvern. Isla had been Evaline’s first friend there and the only person she could truly call her best friend. For twenty-four years, they had stayed that way and Andrea had a gut feeling their friendship would never fade.  
From her mother’s brief stories, snuck in between the periods of times her father was away or wasn't listening, her life was as perfect as anyone could have ever wished for. She was the class valedictorian for the entirety of her years at Wayvern. She had large group of true friends. A perfect boyfriend. Andrea often wondered what had gone wrong and why her mother was stuck with a broken family, a husband who couldn’t be any less loving, a son who wanted his older sister dead and a daughter who couldn’t be the heroine everyone wanted and needed her to be.  
“Don’t hold yourself back over something that nearly happened three years go,”  
Her heart did a painful jolt.  
"Simon," she warned. "Don't go there."  
He nodded. "Okay. I'm sorry,"  
"The line ends at her."  
"Okay. I'm sorry,"  
That was one of the few things she didn't like about Simon.  
He was an amazing friend- that was for certain. Simon had always been the closest thing she had to an older brother. But he pushed her too hard to get over the past when he knew that sometimes, Andrea could still remember the weight of a boy's body and hands all over her where she didn't want them to be. Simon had always had good intentions, yet he was never exactly the best at executing them.  
Adrien was always more of a soulmate than a best friend or sibling to her. Siblings fought. They did too- they had a knack of cursing each other out in Chinese and French but still, it was different. He understood everything that happened to her and how she took longer to heal than others did. Occasionally, he could relate to her- he knew the pain of a parent, or in his case, two, not wanting him and the pain of knowing that it was hard for people to love them.  
He had always been much more patient with her, much more understanding. Andrea knew Simon was just trying to do what he thought was best for her, though   
Andrea pushed his leg off hers, getting up to her feet without turning back to look at him. In her mind, she could already imagine the sad look on Simon's face as he stared at the empty spot on the bed where Andrea had just laid. That was something else she didn't like about the raven-haired boy- his sad looks. Exactly like a puppy.   
As soon as she shut the door behind her, all she could bring herself to do for five minutes was to lean against it and mumble to herself to breathe until her chest felt lighter and her jaw wasn't so tense anymore.   
Every breath still hurt.  
-  
Andrea hated parties.  
The fact that she did had never been a secret but as long as nobody ever asked, she would never tell. Telling people things they probably did not care about were at the bottom of her list of things to do. Keeping things to herself while still telling the truth were at the top.  
Simon was somewhere on the first floor, where most of the action was. Some song by the infamous singer, Jodie Blaine, was blaring loudly enough for her to hear clearly, in the comfort of her own room. She had made sure to lock her door. In the past hour since the party had started, she hadn't seen him. The raven-haired boy was probably having the time of his life, not looking for her or even thinking about her.  
It was okay. He had a life that didn't revolve around her.  
Adrien and Micah had disappeared somewhere that wasn't district one- she had checked everywhere for them in the building, including the attic where they were planning to build Willa's room, without much luck. Willa was supposedly going to sleep over in Micah's bed temporarily- Andrea had tried to offer hers but the boy had rejected the offer without much thought.  
Her best friend had probably gotten overwhelmed with the amount of people flooding in and her blond flat mate was off doing merlin knew what. Usually, he stuck by Simon's side all night until he was drunk or until he didn't feel like putting up with the boy's shenanigans any longer. It usually didn't take more than an hour.  
Most nights, Andrea could hear the blue-eyed boy typing away onto his typewriter whenever she pressed her ear onto his door. To the Jayde brothers, it was a consistent irritance, though to her, it had always felt like something she could find comfort in. It was home.  
She often had to reassure herself that she wasn't alone.  
As she pressed her ear to the door, she was disappointed not to hear any sign of him in the room.  
In the past eight years she had lived in her room at Wayvern, she still hadn't got used to how lonely and empty it felt. Multiple times, she had considered putting up posters or photographs of herself and her friends, yet she never carried on with it. It felt too personal to be bared on display to everyone who entered her room. Her walls were bare grey and emotionlessly empty. The only things in her room were her wardrobe, her wooden desk, her bed and a small bookshelf that also worked as a nightstand beside her bed. Three years ago, after it had happened, the three of her roommates and Marcus had helped her set up a mirrored wall right next to her bed, so that even if she faced away from the door, she could see whoever came in.  
Compared to the others' rooms, hers was the most plain and devoid of any personality.  
Sometimes she really wished she wasn't.  
Adrien's room was painted light orange, littered with post-it’s with reminders on it, abandoned school notebooks that were barely written in, dirty laundry (Most of the clothes were hers. Adrien hated going shopping and had a tendency to steal what she had, though it wasn't much.), and French news articles. The brunette boy rarely even spent time in there- most of his free periods were spent in his makeshift gym on the first floor of their district, behind the stairs, or on the sofa, fast asleep. Sometimes, he slept over in her room too. She didn't really mind it- as long as it was him and not someone else.  
His depression had a tendency of catching up to him, leaving him in a constant state of exhaustion and need for naps.  
Since they were kids, Simon had always been infatuated with stickers, fashion statements and notebooks. Anything cute, really. His ceiling had always been her favourite to stare at; it was covered in what seemed like a million stickers of all sorts that he had started collecting when he was six. Andrea could never get bored looking at them. The walls were a light shade of emerald green, peeking out from behind pages ripped out of magazines taped onto the wall and even more stickers.  
Out of the four of them, Micah had always been the most posh and hardworking, in classes and not. Most of the time, Andrea wasn't even allowed in his room. She didn't know why; he never answered her when she asked. His desk was always neat, with a tall bookshelf next to it, filled to the brim with his books. There was a single typewriter on his desk, replaced with the occasional laptop during weekends and public holidays, when they were allowed to use their gadgets.  
Once her first week was over, the three of them- Micah, Simon and herself, were planning to set-up Willa's room during the weekend. The young blonde was staying with her cousin until then. From what she had told Andrea- or in fact, wrote, her favourite colour was blue; she liked building with legos; and she lived with Aristotle at their grandparent's home, along with both her parents.   
She wasn't surprised to notice that Adrien was trying his best to avoid the newest addition to their district as much as he could.  
Though he wouldn't admit it, he had a tendency of pushing people that reminded him of his younger sister away. Until he was eight, he was the one who had to look after Lylou for an entire year as both his parents struggled with their drug and alcohol addictions. It had never been an easy life for him. Being a hero only made it worse.  
Only thrice did he mention his fear of Lylou getting attached to him- the first time being when he had cried to her about how he hopeless and terrified he felt and the other times was when she had found him after both his suicide attempts. She remembered exactly the words he said, when she found him, both of the times.  
"People with autism need consistency and something that is unchanging. I'm going to end up hurting Lylou, okay? I'm not going to stay forever. I will never be the brother she needs. You need to understand that. You need to let me go before it's too late,"  
"Goddamn you- don't look at me like that. Stop looking so fucking sad. I didn't want to be fucking saved. The later I kill myself, the more memories she'll have of me. Lylou will remember who I am, and it's going to fuck her up. She can't be like me. You can't let her be like me,"  
Andrea had been the first one to find him both times. The first time was with an emptied bottled of pills in his hand. The second time, blade in his right hand. Too much blood. Too much red. Having a best friend who was severely depressed and wouldn't take his antidepressants was hard, even if she wouldn't admit it. How on earth was she supposed to save someone who didn't want to be saved?  
Loving him had come with too many consequences to count but she never regretted her decision to do so. He was the second person to have ever accepted her as she was, right after Simon and he was the only one she would ever trust with her life.  
Turning right to look into Simon's bedroom, she found Willa sat on the middle of the floor, flipping through one of his fashion scrapbooks. Andrea stood in the doorway, smiling to herself, before waving to get the girl's attention after quickly hiding the smile. The blonde eight-year-old grinned at her widely- there was a similarity in it to Micah's.  
Earlier, Andrea had tried to find Aristotle to ask him to teach her a little bit about Australian sign language without any success. When she asked Simon (He almost always knew where Aristotle was. “To prevent my own untimely death,” he said. Andrea felt like it was something else.) where the blond was, he had replied to her with a snarky remark saying that he wasn’t ‘his future killer’s keeper’.   
As a way of making sure Willa was fine with it, she pointed to the spot on the floor across the younger girl and raised her left eyebrow. Willa nodded her head rather enthusiastically, her grin infectious. Andrea eventually gave up trying to hide her smile and sat on the wooden floor, cross-legged.   
Gadgets of any sort had to be handed in to the headmaster and headmistress or to the administration office in between the main library and the assembly auditorium in tightly lidded boxes with padlocks to prevent any loss of their belongings every week until the weekend. For eight years, Adrien had managed getting away with only putting in his mother’s old phone into the box, keeping his own along with his tablet taped under the bed until inspection was over. They often did sloppy jobs checking.  
Only that year did he get tired of his younger adoptive brother, Simon, being a goody-two-shoes and kept it too, without the owner’s approval. If Andrea had been there earlier, perhaps she would have gotten a minimal of fifteen minutes of amusement watching the two argue pointlessly.   
Andrea opened the notes app, typing in four words. Hello Willa, I’m Andrea.  
She handed Adrien's phone to the blonde girl. hi andrea, i'm willa. nice to meet u  
It's nice to meet you too. Do you think you could teach me sign language? I signed up for sign language classes but I don't have them until Friday. It would be nice so that I could actually talk to you without writing or typing. Phones aren't actually allowed on weekdays.  
ok i can show u right now  
After handing Andrea back the phone, she signed 'hello' to Andrea.  
"That's hello, right?"  
-  
Andrea didn't know exactly what time it was, except that it was late.  
At eleven, she had tucked Willa into bed in the makeshift bed in the attic (Willa refused to sleep in Micah’s bed- she had signed that she would rather sleep in a dark room than in his bed), warning her it was going to be a long day the next day. She fell asleep pretty fast- it wasn't often that Andrea actually got the chance to feel like an older sister. After sorting out her things and organizing her and Simon's bathroom, she had ended up on the sofa, talking to Marcus watch while she waited for Adrien to get home.  
"I didn't fucking know she was a hero. Nobody told me. I really hate this bullshit, you know? I hate living like this. I hate that they keep secrets from us. What are we? If Micah’s old enough to be a hero, I'm old enough to know shit in this family. I deserve to know that my cousin- my cousin, is a hero. That she might die,"  
Andrea didn't reply, not knowing what to say, just barely being able to hear him over the music.  
"It was shitty enough when we found out Micah was a hero. It's shitty and dangerous and just- it's just fucked up. We're kids. How on earth are kids supposed to save the world?"  
She let his voice fade into the music for a moment. "Do you get jealous? That he's a hero and you aren't?"  
Marcus rested his arm on the back of the sofa, looking away from the television screen. For a moment, he paused, pursing his lips in thought. Andrea looked away from him, instead down at her hands as she fiddled with her thumbs awkwardly. She had never been great at making conversation.  
"To be honest? Yeah. You know me, Drea- I don't like the fucking spotlight. I don't like being 'famous' or whatever. But you know, it'd be nice to be the better brother at least once in my life. It sucks being the shitty one,"  
She frowned at him. "You're pretty great too. And to be honest, I hate being a hero- it isn't fun risking your life every day, knowing you might drop dead any second,"  
His cheeks flushed red as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah- yeah sorry, of course I know that- Wait fuck, I mean the hero part, not the me being great part- but uhm thank you, I guess. Like, really. Thank you. Nobody really tells me that. I'm not very friendly,"  
"Your welcome,"  
"Can I be honest with you, Drea?" She nodded at him. "Sometimes, I'm grateful that I wasn't the hero- not because I want him Micah to die, no. It's just that some people would make really fucked up heroes. I'm one of them,"  
Andrea just stared at the screen.  
"Micah's perfect. He's the better twin. Everyone loves him. I'm the disappointment,"  
"He's not the better twin,"  
Marcus waited for her to continue in silence.  
"I don't think he's better than you. I like you all the same. You're a good person, Marcus. You haven't disappointed me,""  
Right as he opened his mouth to reply, a girl with platinum blonde hair, dyed blue at the edges, placed a hand lightly on his shoulder. She gave Andrea an apologetic look, squeezing his shoulder.   
"Hey," the girl said.  
Marcus groaned, turning to face her. "What the hell do you want, Kace?"  
"Don't be an ass, Marcus. Richard's looking for you,"  
"What'd he fucking do this time? Stab himself with a screwdriver? Drop a wrench on his foot again? He's a fucking idiot, that's what he is,"  
"Uhh no," CJ grimaced, removing her hand from his shoulder. "Jinnie broke up with him,"  
She also bent down to whisper in his ear something in Greek that Andrea didn’t want to nor could hear, making his eyes widen.  
The blond boy shot up from his seat, quickly apologizing to Andrea, wishing her a good night and bolting out the door. Andrea had to fight off a small laugh. The girl- CJ, was still watching her and eventually settled on taking the seat next to her. On instinct, Andrea tensed up, trying to avoid eye contact as she forced her eyes to stay focused on the TV.  
"Sorry about that. He's gotta go before Ari sees and freaks out at Richie for even having a girlfriend. He's overprotective of his cousins, I guess. Don't blame him. They're pretty great. Except Marcus- he's a jerk sometimes- but don't tell him that. He's still sort of my friend. Well, I hope,"  
Andrea didn't reply.  
"You don't talk much, do you? It's okay if you don't. I can do all the talking,"  
She didn't reply that time either.  
"It's okay. You can go on watching. I'm just here waiting for my boyfriend. He asked me to come here with him but he pretty much ditched me for one of his other friends. I should be used to it, but I don't think I ever will be. Sometimes it sucks being your own boyfriend's second choice,"  
Upon hearing the term boyfriend, Andrea felt her entire body relax. CJ wasn't going to ask her out. She was with her boyfriend- of course she wasn't going to. Andrea was fine; whatever that happened with Eleanor wouldn't happen again.   
Her uncles Cassimir and Matteo had made sure that she and Eleanor's paths would never cross again, bribing her entire family to send Eleanor and her brother off to one of the blessed schools in the United States. Her father had brushed it off as nothing. Her mother had screamed at him that it was serious, to which resulted in a harsh slap across the cheek. For her entire life, it seemed that the true father figures she had in her life were her uncles, instead of her own father.  
"We'll get you out of there, I promise," Matteo had said.  
"Yeah, Dre. When you're eighteen, you can move in with us. I promise,"  
Upon seeing him- Eleanor's brother, in the headmaster's office when they were trying to sort things out, Matteo had attempted to jump on the boy, shouting words that were too vulgar for Andrea to even repeat in her mind. Arthur and Cassimir had to hold him down until the man had cooled off, finally stopping with the death threats and the harsh words. Andrea could only watch- there was nothing to say.  
Her father hadn't even bothered showing up. Her mother wanted to, but she wasn't allowed out of the house. She hadn't been, in fact, for as long as Andrea could remember. The groceries were done by the housemaids. The gardening was done by the house-gardener. She and Ryland were taken to the bus stop by one of the drivers. Most of the time, Andrea didn't see her mother either, except during breakfast, lunch and dinner.  
It had been unfair, but no matter how much she would tell her father about it, he would turn a deaf ear or gotten angry and hostile at her. Whenever she did something against his will, he would always leave it for Ryland to deal with. On some days, her brother was filled with more malice, trying to leave her with as much pain as possible without killing her in the process. Some days, he left her with only a few scars, maybe on her cheeks or on her arms. Some days it was worse, too many too count and just enough to leave her mind hazy with how much blood she lost.  
Ryland did nothing to help. He wasn't allowed into the office at that time, yet he didn't pass the opportunity to harass her about it later on. He would tell her it was her fault, over and over, until her uncle Matteo overheard him and threatened to skin him alive if he didn't stop. Everyone who knew Matteo knew that he would keep his word- Ryland wasn't risking his life.  
"He's sort of a jerk, Haru, you know? But I'm the only family he's got left. Well, me and the entire team. You shouldn't really be talking to me, should you? I'm the opposing team's captain. I don't know if you know that. Well, we'll be meeting each other a lot this year," the girl offered her hand. "I'm Casey Jayde. Or CJ- both works, I guess. Nice to meet you,"  
Andrea took it, shaking it lightly before immediately pulling back. "Andrea,"  
"Sorry. I know I talk too much. I just get nervous when I'm talking to new people and end up rambling. It's kind of annoying, I know. Just can't help it,"  
"It's okay. I don't mind,"  
"Well, it's getting pretty late isn't it?" Casey pulled out her digimap from her right jean pocket, unfolding it. Pressing a few buttons, she let out a small sigh. "It's nearly two. I've got my first Lahey practice tomorrow- it's odd that they picked someone whose having their first year playing Lahey to be captain, isn't it? Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Andrea. It was nice talking to you. Have a good night,"  
Andrea nodded at her as the girl grinned at her, getting up and making her way to the crowd.  
Out of the corner of her eyes, Andrea watched as Casey walked up to a boy- Haruto, she had seen him many times before on and off the court, and placing her arm in his shoulder. Haruto forced a grin that didn't quite reach is eyes, turning to face his girlfriend and saying something Andrea couldn't make out. Right as she was about to direct her eyes back to the television screen, she noticed the girl flinch ever so slightly, mumbling something to the boy, only for him to snap something at her;  
"Are they having a blue? Yikes- he seems pretty toxic,"  
Andrea turned in her seat to face the man who just spoke. "Uncle Matteo?"


	5. adrien jayde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien at the court. Rain drizzling over him. He lays down on the center of the court. he sees a figure, and he panics but they're gone.

If death was inevitable, why were so many people afraid of it?   
In the early mornings, the Greyhounds' court was almost always empty. On some days, there would be one of the Halley twins, obsessively practicing their aim or Essie Ryver, his team's goalie who was a water nymph, having everyone from their team's gear spread out on the court, ensuring that nothing had been worn down. Essie was one of the most caring people he knew, despite their sharp tongue. That was what he liked about them- they said things as they were, with no sugar to coat it.   
Truth was unavoidable; it would always end up being revealed one day.  
Micah had gone to bed some time ago, maybe nearly an hour, leaving him alone on a sofa on the first floor of district one. He had decided to take a walk around half an hour before, wandering the dark paths that were laid out at Wayvern. The boarding school was split into five main sections- first were the 'districts', where the school sleeping quarters and the surrounding facilities were.  
Stone brick paths were laid out in front of all the district buildings and large stone walls surrounded the apartment-block-like buildings (only district one stood out- it was shaped like a house, much unlike the other districts) ensuring that it only had two entrances and no intruders would get in. Along with the stone walls, he was pretty sure there were a lot of protection spells that were casted upon the buildings, including the protective dome that circled the entire school, stopping right where the Forest of Light began behind the school, and where the front gates stood at the entrance.  
The second part of Wayvern was Aloysius hall, named after the first headmaster of the school. It was where the assembly hall, cafeteria, kitchens, administration, head offices and meeting rooms were. During late night walks, he would have to avoid the building as best as possible- curfew was at eleven at night, unless you had an astronomy class or permission from a teacher. Being caught of bed meant detention, ranging from an hour to an entire month. However, once he turned 18 in February, the rule wouldn't apply to him any longer. He could take walks anytime he wanted, without risking getting caught having Isla complaining about being called to the school.  
Gryffin hall was the biggest building out of all five, with all the classrooms, laboratories, dueling rooms, and libraries. Wayvern was known for housing the most 'heroes' in history, with twenty-seven out of fourty or so of them. The heroes just seemed to be born wherever the people around needed them most. In their case, it was the uprising of the blood-thirsty, for the fifth time in Australian history. The vampires just never seemed to give up, which was incredibly, incredibly infuriating. Had it not been for them, he probably would have led a normal life as everybody else.  
During their first year, the four of them- Andrea, Micah, Simon and him, had been told that as soon as they would have their statues up on the stone podiums in the Hall of Heroes as soon as they turned eighteen. He was two months older than Micah, who was the second oldest out of all of them. Adrien was going to be the first one to get his statue, and 'why' he would even get one, he didn't really understand.  
He was a hero, true, but he had never saved anyone.  
Not even himself.  
All the sport facilities were counted as the fourth section, though some of them were at opposite sides of the school. On the left side of the school, were the basketball court, tennis court, swimming pools, badminton court and archery ranges. On the right were the soccer court, two Lahey courts and the sports building. The sports building was right next to the Lahey courts, where people would sign up for teams and get their uniforms, and where the Lahey players would store their gear. For the other sports, most of them either left them in their rooms at each of their districts, or if they were an archer, they would usually leave it in district 6 to get replenished.  
Section five was for the teachers and staff of Wayvern, where the staff offices were. Adrien had been sent to the office too many times to count, usually for getting into fights or skipping classes. To be fair, it wasn't his fault people kept on getting onto his nerves or bothering Andrea.   
And it wasn't his fault his classes were infuriatingly boring either.  
Above him, the sky flashed brightly, thunder rumbling as rain fell lightly onto him. He jogged to the center of the court, letting out a small laugh that felt foreignly cheery. It was mornings like those that reminded him that the world was indeed beautiful and of what he would miss if he gave up on life too soon.  
Depression was like a void- at the end of the day, he almost always felt emptier than he had when it had started.  
The court had always helped him feel at ease, especially when Andrea wasn't around to help him through his bad moments.  
Micah had slept in the room across his at Wayvern, yet neither of them had ever been exactly close. Adrien had never had much friends. There were only a few people who would talk to him; Marcus Edwards, Jacob Jacobson, Essie Ryver… That was pretty much it. He knew it was hard to like him- it was easier for him to push people away before he got attached and gave them the chance to hurt him the way his parents did.  
And of course, there too was the infuriating thing called catching feelings.  
When he had first started liking Micah, he truly didn't know. Maybe it had been the Christmas during his first year, when the blond had gotten him a gift or maybe it had been in the summer of their second year, where he had asked if Adrien had wanted to tag along on his and Simon's beach trip. Andrea had tagged along too, but that had been Simon's doing. Wherever Simon went, Andrea went and wherever she went, Adrien did too.  
Liking him didn't hurt much anymore, though he knew he would never be good enough for Micah. And besides, he didn't even know if Micah liked guys- heck, Adrien wasn’t even sure if he himself did like guys, or if he was just misunderstanding his feelings once again. He probably didn't- Adrien saw the way he looked at Andrea, as if she was everything he had ever wanted and would ever want. In return Andrea had a look that was reserved only for Micah that Adrien had never been able to read. There was a hint of disgust, mixed with a soft and proud look in her eyes, yet he never figured out which one she truly felt towards the blond.   
Andrea was fond of Micah; that was for sure. When she talked about him, it was in a way he had never heard her talk about anyone else, other than the girl she had dated back when she was fourteen. Since then, Andrea hadn't dated anyone else. Adrien wouldn't ever push her to do anything she wasn't ready to, and when she was, he would always be the first to know.  
If she was happy, he was too.  
Happiness was like a pipe dream, but if it came, well- he’d let it stay.  
A small smile fought its way onto his face- he let it stay.  
With his powers, he warmed himself up, feeling the usual light tug on his gut whenever he used them. He couldn't give less of a fuck if he got a cold, but his mother would. Or Andrea- he didn't know which one fussing over him would be worse.  
Isla Jayde had given him and Lylou a home when their biological parents couldn't. Both his mother and father had struggled with their alcohol and drug addictions, eventually leading to his mother's overdose, which in turn led to an investigation by the Australian Child Protection Services. It finally resulted in both of them being put into the foster care system. Luckily for them, Isla Jayde's name had been on top of the list of the foster homes that were available.   
Despite everything, Isla had always been patient with him. When he was twelve, he was first diagnosed with depression. When he was thirteen, he had first tried to kill himself. Two years later, he did the same, yet never once had she lost her patience with him. Isla had never pressured him into taking his meds, though she had spent at least thousands of dollars on them for the past six years and he had only taken them for two weeks before he had broken down and flushed them down the toilet.  
He didn't want to end up like his parents.  
He couldn't.  
They were drug addicts. Alcoholics. Adrien couldn't risk getting addicted to any alcoholic drink or drug, even if it was medical. He wasn't going to be like them- he was going to be better, and he would stay sober his entire life. He wouldn’t ever hurt anyone the way they hurt him.   
Isla could have forced him to take them or stopped getting them prescribed to him, yet she didn't. When he had asked why, she had told him that it was to that if one day he changed his mind and wanted to take them, they would be there. He wondered if she understood that he didn't really wanted to die and that instead, he just wanted a different life, where he had been left untouched by his birth-parents and the damage they had mentally and physically inflicted on him. A new beginning, where he hadn’t ended up the way he was then.  
He so desperately wanted to go, so he didn't have to keep on living like this but there were so many questions he needed the answers to.   
Would Lylou be alright with him? He had practically raised her from birth, trying his best to keep her alive in the face of the neglect by both of their birth-parents. Every single time his father had gotten drunk and tried to beat her, he had put himself in between the belt and his sister. Adrien would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat if it meant Lylou would never go through the things he did- and he did. He held his own safety in less regard than he did hers. As long as his little sister was fine, nothing mattered.  
Would Andrea get through the years without him? Andrea and him had been attached at the hip since the first time they had set apart their differences and agreed to a truce. The red strings of fate had always been complicated, occasionally getting tangled up with other strings of strangers who weren't meant to be important parts of their lives, yet through all of the other identical strings, they had managed to find each other's intertwined right in the middle. A soulmate was a soulmate- no one was given the chance to choose who theirs would be, but no matter who it was, they were still the person who understood you the most.   
Andrea had always helped him find peace in within himself whenever he most needed it.  
It was moments like those, alone, that he could finally think about everything she had sacrificed for him- even the seemingly small things had taken a lot from her.  
Simon would certainly have a hard time getting over his death; although the two Jayde brothers had always mutually hated the other, Adrien still cared. Despite all the harsh words and falls down the stairs of their home, from rough fights which were placed too closely near the edge, he still and always would. Simon was always going to be his little brother. And if he died, Simon wouldn’t know that. And Simon needed to.   
Blood had never defined family- it defined nothing.   
Since a young age, Simon had always struggled with keeping people, especially males, in his life. His father had left. His first boyfriend did too. His other best friend, Quinn. Though he wouldn't admit it, Adrien knew that his brother had always blamed himself for them leaving, taking his mind off the gnawing thought at the back of his head by drowning himself in alcohol and endless hours of volleyball. It wasn't healthy, however, like Andrea had always said, "How could you help someone who didn't want to be helped?". Sometimes Adrien wondered if she wasn’t only talking about Simon, but if she was talking about him too. Maybe it was her way of telling him that she wanted him to want her to help him.  
Simon had a gnack for pushing people away the second he felt that they were trying to push away from him. He’d try to leave them before they left him. It was a weak coping mechanism to prevent getting hurt, though it had ended up with him gaining the title of a ‘player’ at Wayvern. Adrien knew Simon had gotten attached to every single person he’d had a connection or relationship- and even his one-night-stands. Simon just refused to admit it to anyone especially himself.  
His heart desperately wanted to stay, but Adrien’s mind was desperately telling him to go.  
Hearing faint footsteps, his eyes shot open. Adrien quickly got up to his feet, lighting up a fire in his palm. It made sizzling noises and the rain fell into them, but he didn't let the fire die out. He took a few steps back, looking around before he finally saw the figure.  
There was a boy right next to the left goalpost, a similar flame in his hand, though instead of green, it was purple. Magical fire, only conjurable by the students of district three. His face was lit up partially by the fire, so that Adrien could only see his piercing blue eyes and the grim look on his face. Of course- the students of district three were always secretive; always threatening looking. All bark, yet all bite too.  
The fire in his palm suddenly died out, and it took Adrien three more tries before the flame reignited.  
By then, the boy had disappeared. He spun around on his spot slowly, looking around for the boy, yet there was no trace of him. That had always been the issue with the magics- they were too fucking powerful for their own good.  
"Fuck," Adrien mumbled under his breath, running his hand through his hair.  
His heart raced in his chest- he hadn't felt as unnerved as he did since he had last seen his father.   



	6. andrea paige

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY; Andrea's POV of the party. Her meeting her uncle Matteo. Talking about her schedule. Her waiting until three am, which is when all parties are forcibly dismissed. Micah comes back in at around three, and he's soaked in water. They talk.

SIX - ANDREA  
He grinned at her. "Hola Andrea,"  
Andrea grinned, getting off the seat and standing across him, sofa in between them. He offered his fist to her and she bumped it with her own lightly. It wasn't that often that she got to meet him- he and his husband, Cassimir Adair, spent most of the time at their house (well, manor, to be honest) in Sydney. Matteo worked as a history teacher at one of the private human-blessed schools in Sydney, named Milliards, where only students who were either blessed or knew about them were accepted. Cassimir, on the other hand, worked hand in hand with another one of the big business families that she was never told the name of.  
They usually only came over every few months, staying over at her family home whenever they weren't too busy or when they had another business deal involving her father. Cassimir had warned her that their visits would be getting less frequent as they were planning to adopt a child (well, Stellan was seventeen, nearly an adult)- Andrea knew she was supposed to be happy for them but the times when bother uncle Cassi and Matteo were over were the times where Ryland didn't dare land a hand on her. They were the only times where she felt safe in her own home.  
"Why are you here?"  
"You don't seem that glad to see me- are you not?" He walked around the sofa and took the seat next to hers, so she sat back down.  
"I'm glad to, uncle. I just didn't expect you,"  
"Well," he pointed to the identification card clipped to the pocket of his white shirt. "I'm your Greek history teacher for the entire year,"  
She frowned, knowing he would see her grades in History.  
Matteo frowned back at her. "Why so blue? You're always frowning. Doesn't look that good on you,"  
"I don't want you to see my grades," she said. "Bad grades,"  
"You're failing?" Andrea nodded. "Is it just history?" she nodded once again, making him roll his eyes. "Then what's the issue? S’long you're not failing everything, s'okay,"  
Andrea shrugged. "Are you monitoring the party? I thought it was going to be coach Violet,"  
"Yep, they switched us out. The party doesn't look like much fun. Back at Milliards, they'd have these big parties at the dorms. They were brilliant. Lots of drinking. Lots of magical holes in the walls and floors that people were pushed into. Your uncle Cassimir hated them- I didn't. Took him to every single one. He ended up loving them too, I think,"  
"Is he here too?"  
"Nah- they offered him a job as the econ professor. He declined. He reckoned those skimpy little bludgers he'd have as students'd be the be death of him. Next year, though- I’ll convince him,"  
"The students here aren't that bad. Uncle Cass would've taught Aristotle. He's a friend of mine. He’s really good at Economics,"  
Matteo's eyes lit up. "Edwards? S' he here? I need to talk to him 'bout his cousin. Willa, was it? Riley's her partner, or somethin' and well, I gotta warn him Riley's sorta an ass. I don't want to get sued for his bullshit again,"  
"Riley's really sweet,"  
"Only to you. Doesn't he bully that one roomie of yours? Michael, was it?"  
"Micah,"  
"Blonde hair, blue eyes?"  
"That's him," she said.  
"Signature Edwards. He was the one talking to you earlier?"  
"No, that was Marcus. Micah's twin,"  
"He has a twin?"  
"Mhm. They're nice,"  
"So which one are you going for? The one from earlier seemed nice. He looked happy with you,"  
She stayed silent for a moment- what did she mean which one was she going for? Did he mean which one she liked? Andrea couldn't ever imagine dating either of them; especially Marcus. True, she had been friends with Micah for as long as she could remember, even before she found out he had a twin, but she had never considered Micah as anything else than a friend. She could recall a few moments in her third year where she wondered if there was a certain possibility she would ever like him, though nothing ever came out of it. The year after, she had fallen in love with Eleanor and it was as simple as that.  
But if she hadn’t, would she have fallen for him instead?  
Even before Eleanor, Andrea had never caught feelings for anyone else. Not a single soul. Maybe in her first year, she did have a small crush on Micah, though she was never sure if it was just that she was fond of him or if it was something else.  
The first time she had talked to Marcus was in their second year, when she and Micah were out for a drink at a Murray's and a boy who looked identical approached them and asked Micah for some change. He had asked her if it was okay to sit with them, instead of his own brother. It wasn't exactly a surprise that he sounded the same too- the only difference between the two was that Marcus was rather cold to people he wasn't friends with while Micah talked to everyone.  
Soon after she and Marcus had ended up talking that day, they started talking when they randomly bumped into each other in the hallways too. Marcus was friendly to her, and he was a nervous wreck whenever they talked. Andrea didn't understand why he was always so nervous and awkward talking to her, yet she never really minded. He was another friendly face in the crowd, someone she could find comfort in.  
"They're just my friends,"  
"That's what they always say," he grumbled. "That's what your uncle Cass said about me, and look where we are now. Married. And we're about to adopt a son,"  
Matteo flashed his silver ring at her.  
"I don't like either of them. They're my friends, nothing more,"  
"Funny, that is. I could've sworn that Marcus boy was lookin' at you different,"  
"What do you mean?"  
"Merlin, Drea- you’re blunt. He likes you- friends don't look at friends that way,"  
"No, he doesn't. He looks at me normal,"  
"Mija, don't be stupid- that is exactly how your uncle Cassi used to look at me,"  
"He doesn't look at me like that. I would know-"  
"Oh damn it,” he said. “They’re fighting- he raised his fist at her. I knew they were toxic. I’m gonna sort it out, Drea. See you,”  
"Bye," Andrea said.  
As she heard her uncle shouting at Haruto and Casey to 'quit it', she pulled out her digimap and unfolded it, revealing the nearly transparent screen. Lines began to glow, forming the outlines of the structures around the entire school. She clicked the bright gear on the top left of the device, which opened a menu. The first option was the brightness settings. The second one was the terms and conditions. The third button was the language settings. The fourth button was for pairing. The fifth one was the privacy settings. The last one was the ‘report a problem’ option.  
She clicked on the first one, lowering the brightness of the lines ever so slightly. Andrea clicked back, proceeding to skip to the fourth button. Much like everyone else, she had never cared much about the terms and conditions and she was most comfortable reading in English than any of the other languages she spoke, which were French and Chinese. A blank box popped up, with the text 'Please input your partner code. It can be found on the bottom left of your name tags.' above it. Next to it, on the top right was also a question mark encased in a circular line. She clicked on it.  
This pairing option is to pair your digimap with your partners' so that all three or two of you will be able to see each other's positions, send messages, and send 'pings' to each other. We request that the device will only be used for emergencies or for school purposes.  
Andrea gently set down the device on her lap, holding out then looking down on the identification card dangling on the lanyard around her neck. Partner- Micah William Edwards, number #17950. She let go of it, letting it fall back against her chest and picking up the digimap once again, inputting the code.  
Another screen popped up as she pressed enter, a box informing her that the two devices wouldn't be paired until Micah accepted his on his own. She pressed the home button, looking back once again at the map. A bright dot with her name was located on district one, which was on the top left of the screen.  
Andrea zoomed in on it, and more close-up features of the districts.  
District one was the smallest compared to the other districts, resembling more of a house than an entire apartment block. It only housed a maximum of five people- four bedrooms on the second floor, one in the attic that had gone unused for a few decades. There were two bathrooms on that floor- Andrea shared with Simon and Adrien with Micah. The first floor was for the sofa room, as they called it, with just a sofa, a TV, and a small coffee table. Next to it was the guest bathroom then Simon's plant room. Across it was Adrien's gym room, with the cat playroom on the right, and lastly the kitchen-dining room on its right.  
The second district had a greenhouse, where they had their herbology classes at. Andrea had never been much good with plans, though it was the exact opposite case for Simon, his powers being related to earth and all. Adrien was pretty good with plants too- surprisingly, despite the way he seemed all tough and burly, he was gentle with kids, animals and plants of all kinds, though only when just Andrea or his mother was watching.  
Students from other districts were rarely allowed or invited into district three, because of something about the needed calm ambience or aura in district, for tarot reading, spells, charms and everything related to magic-alike. Andrea had been there once, when Micah's late older sister, Natalia. A memorial was held at the school for her, at the assembly auditorium. Before that, she had seen Micah cry multiple times, though never as hard as he did that day. Sometimes, she still wished she had said the right words to console him.  
District four, healing, had the school medical stations and the counselling office. They offered a range of services, from therapy sessions to the student-run hospital. Obviously, there were official doctors and nurses, here and there, mostly who graduated from Wayvern but the students were trusted enough, with their powers doing most of the work for them.  
Sometimes, Andrea walked over to district five to give tutor-sessions. She was pretty good at the subjects she took, the exception only being her history classes. Carys, the headmistress, had asked her for a favour to help every now and then at the district giving free tutor-sessions to the first or second years. She knew that Andrea was better with kids than others her own age and took that into consideration, requesting for Andrea only to be given the younger students.  
Marcus used to bring her along to district six all the time, excited to show here whatever little robot he had designed. He had given her one for her last birthday, which then rested on her study desk, scurrying around as if it had a mind of its own. She had named it Bob, though she had never told Marcus as it seemed a little foolish to name a robot Bob. Andrea still loved it with her life, though, as it sat on its hind wheels patiently, accompanying her whenever she was finishing up her schoolwork. Once, Micah had dragged her there with him when he accidentally damaged Simon's digimap.  
The previous version of the digimap had not been flexible nor anywhere near transparent- Micah had made the mistake of stepping on it when he hadn't noticed it on the floor of Simon's room, creating a large crack right in the middle of the device's glass screen. That too had been the moment when he found out that that version of the digimap was far from durable.  
Students from other districts weren't allowed in district seven either, as their bodies weren't as used to electricity as the students that were from there were. Too many students with electrical powers made the static and conduction build up, risking the visiting bodies with possible electrocution.  
A few years back, Andrea could recall when she had walked with Marcus to district eight for one of his counselling sessions. The students from that district were good with their words, able to say just the right ones to let their patients' worries fade out. Marcus had had a rough year, struggling with grief over the loss of his sister. That was another reason she wished she were better with her words, and that she was a better friend.  
District nine itself didn't exactly offer any services in their district building, though rather instead in small drink stalls located next to the Lahey courts. They used their powers to cool down drinks, such as lemonade and cold water alike, selling it to the sports players.  
Andrea zoomed back out of the districts, watching the glowing bright that was her grow smaller. She clicked on Aloysius hall and she was directed onto the floor directories of the building. The locations of some of the classes had changed; potions used to be in basement six, which was now shut down; defense classes used to be on the fourth floor, together with offense and dueling classes; marketing used to be on the eight floor, together with accounting and finance.  
ALOYSIUS HALL  
10\. ASTRONOMY (AST), DIVINATION (DIV)  
9\. DEBATE (DEB), ETHICS OF THE ARCANE (EOA), SOCIAL STUDIES (SOC. STUD.), LAW  
8\. ACCOUNTING (ACC), FINANCE (FIN)  
7\. ADVANCED MATHS (A.M.), ALGEBRA (ALG), CALCULUS (CALC), MATH  
6\. BUSINESS STUDIES (B.S.), ECONOMICS (ECON), MANAGEMENT (M.G.), MARKETING (M.K.)  
5\. CREATIVE WRITING (C.W.), FRENCH, AUSTRALIAN SIGN LANGUAGE (A.S.L), LITERATURE (LIT)  
4\. DUELING (DUEL), OFFENSE (O.E)  
3\. AUSTRALIAN HISTORY (A.H), GEOGRAPHY (GEO), GREEK HISTORY (G.H), WORLD HISTORY (W.H.), HISTORY OF THE BLESSED (H.O.B.)  
2\. DESIGN (DES), MUSIC  
1\. DEFENSE (DEF), MAGICAL HEALING (MAG H.), MEDICINE (MED), PSYCHOLOGY (PSYCH)  
B1. BIOLOGY (BIO), ANATOMY (ANAT), PHYSICS (PHYS)  
B2. ALCHEMY (ALCH), CHEMISTRY (CHEM), POTIONS (POT)  
B3. CARPENTRY (CARP), DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY (D.T.), INFO AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (I.C.T)  
B4. SHUT DOWN- ENTRY IS PROHIBITED  
Eight years were obligated to take a minimum of 72 periods weekly, which was 36 hours a week. Her schedule wasn't as hectic as it was when she was in her first three years at Wayvern, as she then knew exactly which classes to take and not to take. In her first to third year, her additional classes had been divination, which hadn't proved useful to her at all. In her fourth to seventh year, she had taken carpentry, which resulted in too many splinters for her to count. She finally settled on psychology that year, which was something more in within her comfort zone of something that was more of a textbook-based study rather than something hands-on.  
Micah and her had finally convinced the headmaster and headmistress to allow them to still be partners, despite the fact that they had different additional and language classes- Micah took creative writing instead of psychology, and he took Greek instead of French.  
Most of the time, when she had plenty of homework and she still wasn't done, he would sit together with her at their dining table in the kitchen, writing something for his book while she finished it all up. He would even trade his laptop or typewriter for pen and paper to avoid making too much noise and ending up distracting her. Sometimes, when she was doing narratives or essays for English class, he would switch out whatever they were writing and do the proofreading for each other. Whenever they did that, she had always ended up with a better mark on her work.  
Andrea went back to the home screen, once again, pressing the button at the top right corner, which had a small calendar-like icon inside it. It directed her once again, to a screen that showed her schedule for the year. It wasn't as full as she expected- an average on 40.5 hours a week- roughly five hours each day. She had considered taking another extra hour of sign language on Tuesday, right after dinner, as she had the least classes that day.  
A notification of part of a message suddenly appeared in the center of the screen; MICAH EDWARDS: can u help open the window...  
Andrea let out a small laugh that sounded surprisingly happy.  
She clicked on the translucent, cloudy white text bubble.  
MICAH EDWARDS: can u help open the window please?? i'm stuck outside. it's cold xx  
MICAH EDWARDS: please???  
ANDREA PAIGE: No. Go through the front door. I'm tired.  
MICAH EDWARDS: please- you're brothers there. he's gonna bother me again  
ANDREA PAIGE: It's your not you're.  
MICAH EDWARDS: p l e a s e. it's cold. and it's raining. i'm soaked.  
ANDREA PAIGE: ok  
MICAH EDWARDS: is that a yes or no???  
ANDREA PAIGE: ok  
MICAH EDWARDS: ?????  
Laughing, she got up from her seat. She let out a small yawn as she stumbled through the crowd of people- Andrea saw a glimpse of platinum blond hair sticking out from the rest out of the crowd; Aristotle, and was about to approach him when she noticed that he was arguing with Simon. Again. It was nothing new- in fact, it had become some sort of a routine for the two to pick up a fight whenever they could. Aristotle would constantly give him grief about his sexuality, and Simon would bite back at him with whatever harsh words he had at the tip of his tongue.  
It hadn't always been like this- Andrea remembered that for the first term of her and Simon's first year, he and Aristotle had been inseparable. Simon enjoyed having Aristotle as an older friend. Aristotle enjoyed having Simon as well... A companion, for their little trips down hallways in between classes and right before dinner. Sometimes, Andrea tagged along, though she had never been included much in their conversations; of course, she didn't blame either of them. They seemed to be lost in their own little shared world.  
The semester after that, Aristotle hadn't come back to Wayvern at all. Or the year after that. He never showed back up, up until his fifth year. Andrea, nor anyone else at the school, aside from his cousins, knew the real reason why- she didn't really mind, honestly. If he were to take two and a half years off from school, she was certain there must have been a serious reason why. Health reasons. Family concerns. Mental health. Either way, or in any way, in fact, it was not her business at all to snoop. The Edwards were incredibly reasonable people, and that one time she had met their grandparents, they were incredibly kind.  
Aristotle had changed, however, in the two and a half years he was gone. He became more reserved. More quiet. He looked… Different, and it wasn’t because he wasn’t ten anymore. But most of all, the biggest change she noticed, was that he hated the sight of Simon Jayde and anything at all to do with him.  
Andrea could recall that Simon had looked completely devastated the first time Aristotle had given him grief for his sexuality; he hadn't understood how on earth he would have found out. Maybe it could have been Micah, or one of his other siblings, though that wasn't what Simon was most concerned about. It was the fact that Aristotle seemed completely repulsed at the idea of him liking boys.  
Like it was something wrong, when it truly wasn't.  
Back when she was dating Eleanor, in her fifth year, however, Aristotle had been completely supportive. She suspected Aristotle hated Simon for an entirely different reason; one that he would never admit to. Andrea had immediately pushed the thought away. It was stupid to dwell on things that were in the past, like the reason why Aristotle hated him. And besides, it wasn't her business, once again. Nothing that she was supposed to poke her nose into  
Making her way into the kitchen, she saw that there was one of the girls she knew from district eight, who was one of Marcus' assigned therapists- Avilla Gonzalez, and her girlfriend, talking as both of them threw their heads back in laughter. A small jolt of envy ran through her mind, and she quickly pushed it away. Simon was right. It was time to get over Eleanor- it was stupid. Extremely stupid.  
A boy was sat at the dining table, fast asleep and laying on his crossed arms. Andrea had never seen him before- dark hair, and rather sharp features. He must be new; despite the fact that there was more than two thousand students at Wayvern, each familiar face she had seen at least once before was engraved into her mind, though often without names. She was certain he was one of the new transfer students.  
As she unlocked the window and yanked them open, the panes swinging inside, she flinched as a spurt of water was sprayed across her face. She heard Micah call out a "sorry!" as she wiped it off with the sleeve of her shirt. Andrea couldn't figure out if she was supposed to laugh or yell at him. She decided to brush it off- yelling wouldn’t get anything anywhere.  
She had learnt that the hard way, her brother yelling at her too many times whenever she did something wrong.  
Leaning out of the window, she felt raindrops fall lightly on her back and the top of her head, which she ignored. "That was mean,"  
He smiled sheepishly, which she could barely make out in the dark. "Sorry. Didn't mean to do that. I was hoping that if I sprayed water at the window it'd make you come out faster. It’s cold,"  
"Use your powers for good, not for cleaning the windows. There are washcloths for that,"  
Pushing herself back in the house, she walked over to the sink and grabbed the ladder next to it. Andrea let out a small huff as she dragged it as quietly as she could. Then it hit her- she could have used her powers and saved herself all this work. She was being as dim as always. Gently setting it back down on the ground, she held out her arm in front of her, channeling a small amount of energy to lift it back off the ground.  
She heard a small whistle, and she snapped her head around the where it came from.  
The boy who was previously asleep gave her a sleepy grin, turning his head to face her, still resting it on his arm. "You're the elemental? Didn't expect that,"  
She blinked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
"Nothing, nothing. You just don't look like one, no offence,"  
"What's a hero supposed to look like, then?" Andrea frowned at him.  
"Mine," he grinned. His eyes crinkled at the corners.  
"What do you mean?"  
"You don't get it? That's sad." The boy let out a tired laugh. "I'm Charles. You can call me Charlie,"  
"'Andrea," She turned back down to the ladder and made it go through the window, careful not to hit the glass.  
"Thank you!" Micah shouted, as she heard the ladder rest itself on the edge of the windowsill with a light thump.  
"Whose that? Your boyfriend?" Charlie asked.  
"No," Andrea simply said, leaning back out the window to see how Micah was doing. “Are you okay?”  
"I can climb," the blond boy said.  
"Two left feet," she said.  
She reached out a hand to him as he was three quarters up the ladder, helping him support himself the rest of the way. He flashed her a grin, to which she rolled her eyes at. When she got her top half back through the window, Charles was gone. He probably had to go somewhere- it was late anyways. People at Wayvern always had somewhere important to be.  
"Paige," he gently laid a hand on her shoulder, after a few moments of feeling around the flat wooden floors of the kitchen. "We need to talk,"  
"No we don't,"  
"It's serious," she brushed his hand off. "Come on, it'll be quieter upstairs,"  
She froze. "Adrien comes,"  
Micah stayed silent for a moment, as if he could read her mind.  
"I want to talk about him, Dre. But we can wait until the party’s over, then talk on the sofas. It’s alright. It’s important, but it can wait,”  
She had a sudden urge to apologize to him. “Sorry,”  
“Don’t say sorry. It’s okay. Nothing to be sorry about,”  
“We can talk in the hallways upstairs,”  
Micah wasn’t known for being a particularly friendly person, yet he had always been understanding of her. He knew her boundaries, where exactly she drew the line at, and had always respected them. In a relationship, romantic or not, it was often the seemingly smaller things that mattered more than the ‘big’ ones. The boy knew that perfectly well, and she was grateful for that.  
Together they made their way to the stairs, shuffling between the crowds. Micah had to brush off a few of the people who tried to talk to him, instead smiling apologetically at them and telling them he’d talk to them later. That earned Andrea a few glares, all of which she ignored.  
-  
Micah rested the back of his head against the wall, staring up at their ceiling. “Adrien has scars on his wrist. Did you know that?”  
Andrea stayed silent for a moment, debating whether or not to tell the truth.  
Telling lies had never gotten her anywhere. Whenever her father or brother found out she lied, Ryland would yank her head backwards by the hair, warning her to tell the truth. If she still hadn’t budged and spilled the truth completely by then, he would often lock her in her dark bedroom, for as long as a day or maybe even stretching out into a week.  
It didn’t sound that bad- after all, he wasn’t hurting her physically. But that was completely wrong. The room was completely silent, and pitch dark. Her dinner would be slid through the cat door in her room. Even her bathroom was pitch dark, and the only way she could make her way to the toilet was by pressing the tips of her fingers against the wall and hoping she wouldn’t slip and fall.  
And not only that, but she would often start hearing things that weren’t there; she would often get incredibly paranoid. Andrea would start to hear things that weren’t there, like someone opening the door, or someone calling out for her. Maybe, it wasn’t even the dark that bothered her, but it was the hope that they’d let her out soon that she couldn’t brush off.  
“I know,” she said, in a shaky voice.  
“He’s suicidal?”  
It wasn’t exactly the right term, yet it wasn’t exactly a wrong one either.  
“Yes,” she said. “How did you-“ she took in a deep breath. “How did you find out?”  
“I smelt iron. Blood,”  
Andrea stayed silent. She couldn’t think of the right thing to say.  
“You knew?” he asked.  
She couldn’t recall a moment where she had ever heard Micah sound as unsure as he did right then. Andrea watched as his chest rose and fell with every breath, his blond curls falling into his face. Micah was always confident- always sure. Seeing him like that felt like she was with him during one of the moments where he was supposed to be alone.  
“Always,”  
“And…” He trailed off. “You didn’t help?”  
In a way, that too was true and untrue. Andrea helped by staying out of Adrien’s way as he fought against the monsters in his head. But in a way, by doing so, wasn’t she not helping too? Things were often too complicated to put into words- something as unstable and cruel as depression was too complicated to put into words.  
“You can’t help someone who doesn’t want you to, Micah. You just- you just be there for them, so you’re there, within their rich if they ever need you. And they will, but you don’t know when. Only they do. You just be there for them, whenever, wherever,”  
Micah squeezed his eyes shut. “You just stand by and watch as they slowly kill themselves?”  
Andrea knew this was hard on him. Only five years ago, he had lost his third oldest sibling, his oldest sister, in her own fight against depression. She hadn’t talked to Natalie before, but she had caught glimpses of the girl in photographs, and in photographs Micah had in his room.  
The way that his entire family talked about her was almost as if she were still there. Aristotle would often nonchalantly bring her up if he saw something Natalie would have liked. It didn’t seem that her death had hurt them much- that they were healing completely from it. Marcus had been the only one who still and had visibly struggled.  
Seeing Micah with a voice leaking with so many years of hidden pain hit her completely hard. Some people were better at hiding her feelings than her- many still hadn’t healed the way they seemingly had. Micah wasn’t over his sister’s death. And that was okay.  
“If that’s what they want,”  
Micah turned to face her. “You stand back. And you just watch,” he took in a deep breath. “How do you convince to stand back? Don’t you feel like you need to protect him?”  
“Consent is important. You can’t force someone to want to be helped,”  
Silence hung in the air for a few moments. “So what do I do?”  
“You stand back,” Andrea said.  
“And watch him die?”  
“You watch him fight.”


	7. micah william edwards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY; Micah wakes up in the hallway and there’s a blanket on him. He and Andrea had fallen asleep not too long after talking. There’s a note on the ground next to him, and he has to squint to read it because he’s tired and he doesn’t have his glasses with him. There’s his uniform on his bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yuhh get into it haha

SEVEN - MICAH   
The sun seeped in brightly from the end of the hallway.  
Micah squeezed his eyes shut, a low groan emitted from his throat as he stretched his arms out. It was early morning; the sun shining brightly, the hallway brightly lit up, the rock music blasting from Adrien Jayde’s room, and the unmistakable sound of Simon Jayde dropping pans in the kitchen. He hadn’t expected to have had accidentally fallen asleep on the floor, with his back against the wall.   
He turned to face Andrea only to discover she was gone. Of course- she had never had much trouble waking up, much unlike him. And of course, none of his other flat mates had bothered waking him up. Micah caught a glimpse of Willa grinning at him as she passed the second floor, whilst bolting down the stairs from the attic to the first floor.  
A note was placed on where Andrea had previously sat the night before. He wondered if she had stayed there the entire night, next to him, or she had gone to bed instead, choosing to find comfort in her own bed. The idea of Andrea Paige possibly having had fallen asleep inches away from him made his cheeks flush red.  
Reaching out for it, his back groaned in complaint from how sore it was due to falling asleep somewhere inconvenient. He unfolded it, getting up to his feet and pressing his left palm against the wall for balance. Andrea had as usual, written him a note instead of waking him up and saying the things to himself in person.  
Micah,  
I picked up your Lahey uniform. Coach Violet said something about wanting to talk to you. I think she said something about you being Badgers captain, but I’m not very sure. Her television was very loud. I couldn’t hear what she was saying well above it.  
Please feed blue-blue. There’s cat milk in the fridge, on the third row, next to the Yakult. Tell Adrien to feed the others. I have a meeting with Carys and Arthur, but I’ll be back for first period. Our schedule is on the digi-map. We have HOB first period.  
Thank you,  
Andrea Paige  
A little cat was drawn under where she had signed off the note with her name. He let out a small tired laugh. Folding the note up and stumbling over into his bedroom, he wasn’t surprised to see his twin brother laying on the bed, face buried in the blue sheets.   
“Alexander,” Micah said. “Wake up,”  
“You’re late, William,” he grumbled, muffled through the sheets.  
“Shut up. You didn’t have to wait for me anyways,”  
“You didn’t put them back behind the photo frames, you moron. Come on and hurry up. Carlo and Robyn are waiting for me,”  
Marcus had always been impatient, compared to all his other siblings. Although it was rare for twins, especially identical twins, to belong to different districts, Micah belonged to the first one while Marcus belonged to the fourth. If it weren’t for the different colour of their ties, the fact that Marcus wore cross earrings, and the fact that Micah hadn’t bleached his hair platinum blond, they looked like the exact same person.  
As he reached into his luggage to find his brother’s bottle of pills, which he had pushed behind the door, he heard Marcus get off the bed and walk up right up behind him. Turning to face him, Micah was surprised to see that Marcus wasn’t even behind him at all- he had walked out the door instead.  
“Idiot,” Micah grumbled. “I was about to have a good day,”  
Known for being a troublemaker, Micah wasn’t surprised at the fact that Marcus had failed to follow his very simple rules that Marcus had to oblige by in return for Micah keeping his pills. First, Marcus was to stay in Micah’s room for the entirety of time that he went over every morning. Second, Marcus would not act like an ass to said brother. Third, Marcus was not to flirt with any of his brother’s flat mates, especially Andrea Paige. Lastly, Marcus was not to pry into his brother’s belongings, especially notebook number 138 and number 173.  
Marcus had broken rule number two, was currently breaking number one, and possibly about to break number three.  
“Alex!” he groaned. “Get your ass back here,”  
Pill bottle in hand, Micah stormed out his room. Adrien’s door was swung open inside, and the raven-haired boy poked his head outside. His brows were furrowed in confusion.  
“Marcus is here?” Adrien said.  
The door on the opposite side of the hall, of Andrea and Simon’s shared bathroom, swung open. Simon Jayde walked out, a towel hanging around his neck. Micah frowned- if Simon was there, then who was in the kitchen earlier? Had Andrea come back from the meeting earlier?  
“Whose Alex?” Simon frowned.   
Micah rolled his eyes, making his way through the hallway and slowly down the stairs. “Marcus. He’s here,  
“What’s he here for?” Simon shouted.  
“Me,” Adrien said.  
As he walked down the stairs, he heard Simon curse loudly at his older brother, followed by a loud slam of the door. Adrien jogged up behind him, placing a hand on Micah’s shoulder. A tingly feeling sparked in his stomach, for a moment.  
“Hey, do you know who Cassandra Jayde is?”  
Micah shook his head at him, facing the taller boy for a brief moment before walking off the last step. “No idea who she is,”  
“She’s my partner, apparently, along with Jerry. I’ve never heard of her before,”  
“Me neither. What district is she from?” Micah saw his brother sat on the kitchen counter, next to the stove where Lyla Moores, Simon’s girlfriend, was cooking something up. “Marcus, don’t flirt with her!” He threw the bottle of pills towards his brother, who caught it with ease. “There you go. Now go. Leave,”  
“Fuck you,” Marcus said, proceeding to get off the counter and kiss Lyla on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, Moores,”  
“Rule number three, Marcus,” Micah warned.  
“She’s not your flat mate, Micah,”  
“The same rule applies to my flat mate’s girlfriend,”  
“Bye Marcus!” Lyla said, in a sweet voice, turning to face Micah. “What are those pills for?”  
Micah shrugged, watching his brother leave the kitchen.  
“He has vitamin D defiency too,” he lied.  
During the winter break, Marcus had gotten diagnosed with of ADD. The symptoms had always been there his entire life; the impulsiveness, the disorganization, the poor time management, the frequent mood swings, the hot temper, the trouble coping with stress… It was only time before their parents dragged him to psychologist against his will.  
Natalia’s death, it had hit both of his parents hard, and his paternal grandparents too. All of them knew that even the smallest sign was worth a trip to the psychologist. Mental health was more important than most people would like to admit- not to his family, though. They would admit it in a heartbeat, without a shame in the world.  
Micah remembered the first time he had been forced into a therapy session. It was a mere month after his sister’s death, and he had nothing to say. Because that was the thing- he was fine. He was hurting, but he was fine. Natalia wasn’t suffering. He couldn’t understand why everyone was struggling to understand that she was finally happy.   
Therapy wasn’t brought up until two weeks after Natalie’s funeral. His father had smiled weakly at them- almost too forcibly, saying that she wouldn’t have wanted all of them to be moping around like that. Everyone knew it was the truth; Natalie had never wanted anything more than her family to be happy. Despite the fact that therapy had never helped Micah himself much, it worked the exact other way around for the other members of his family.  
Marcus, Henry John and Kaidance were probably the ones who needed it most. Although both Henry and Kaidance hadn’t outwardly shown it, everyone knew they blamed themselves for their sister’s death. Marcus, however, had no means to hide it from the world. He believed it was completely his fault.  
Once, his grandmother, Willow, had even suggested to take the boy to a physic-medium; someone who could talk to the spirits of the death. Micah wasn’t even supposed to know that. He had accidentally walked into his parents and grandparents’ conversation, and immediately was told to leave the room. Later, when his father had told him not to say a word to Marcus, Micah had asked if they would do it. “For the meantime, we’ll let Nat be at peace,” his father had said. “Marcus will accept that it wasn’t his fault, one day. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But just give him some time, and he’ll learn to heal, alright? Now, run along, Will. Check if Francis still has his bear,”   
“Cassandra’s from district six. I think she’s the same person as Casey Jayde,” Adrien finally said, taking a seat on the dining table. “Casey was mentioned at 3:12 p.m., during Aristotle’s speech. Richard Edwards, Robert Edwards, and Casey Jayde from district 6 will be open for inquiries if you ever need help on how to work it. He said that about the digimap,”  
“Your memory is horrifying,” Micah said, leaning against the kitchen counter.  
“Horrifying indeed, at times,” Adrien muttered.   
“Hey Marcus!” Micah shouted, hearing the front door swing open. “Have you heard of Casey Jayde? Or Cassandra?”  
There was a momentary silence, followed by the door slamming shut.   
“You idiot,” Lyla said. “Casey’s his ex-girlfriend,”  
Micah had to hold on to the counter to prevent himself from toppling over. “What?”   
“Yikes,”Adrien said.  
“She’s Haruto Akira’s girlfriend. I don’t know if you know that. He’s on your team, right, Micah? Yeah, well, Marcus and Casey dated back in… I think it was back in sixth year, and then they broke up, and they dated again for a bit of late eight. I’m not sure what happened, but their relationship didn’t last that time either,”  
“Marcus had a girlfriend?” Micah stared at the girl blankly.  
Never once had Marcus ever mentioned having a girlfriend. For the first semester of their sixth year, he had indeed looked a little happier, and every now and then, Micah would catch a glimpse of his brother grinning at a note or at a text. Whenever he would ask his brother who he was talking to, he would tell Micah to mind his own business.  
He had expected that the day either of them ever would get a girlfriend, the other would know. Micah had expected that he’d be first to know, if Marcus had ever scored a girl. (or a boy, for that matter) To say it didn’t hurt, at least just a little, knowing that his brother didn’t tell him that, would have been a lie. He was his brother. He had a right to know, even if wasn’t with all the details. (Micah didn’t really want details either) (unless that would help him with his book)  
“He didn’t tell you?” Lyla frowned. “Well, if it makes you feel better, the only reason I know was because Richard told me,”  
“Richard knew?”  
“Well…” she gave him an apologetic look, looking up from the pan (Were those burnt eggs?) for a brief moment. “I think that all your siblings might have known. And Aristotle. I think it was Betty who knew first- I heard that she saw them kissing in one of the empty classrooms. She told Mary Lou, who told Annie, who told Robbie, who finally told Rich. Rich told me, when we hung out once at Murray’s to set up the bet board,”  
“Annie knew?”  
His sister, who Marcus hated with a passion, knew?  
“Yeah. We talked about it just a couple weeks ago, on the phone,”  
“Marcus hates Annie. Marcus doesn’t hate me. How come I don’t know?”  
Adrien let out a loud yawn. “Are you jealous, Micah? Can’t score a girlfriend?”  
“I can score a girlfriend just fine,”  
Lyla and Adrien shared a look.  
“Then how come you’re single?”  
“I don’t want one,”  
“Or, the girl you like doesn’t like you back,”  
His cheeks flushed red. “I don’t like anyone,”  
Lyla and Adrien shared a look once again.  
“I don’t!” Micah said, exasperated.   
Adrien let out a loud snort of disbelief. Micah walked back out the kitchen, through the living room and back up the stairs. He didn’t understand how on earth they could have ever possibly found out- he knew he had kept his secret well enough for eight years. They were just fooling around; there was no way on earth that they knew.  
Micah peeked into Andrea’s room to check the clock as he passed- it was fifteen minutes past seven. Breakfast was from seven-thirty to eight, followed by an hour of History of the Blessed, and other subjects he couldn’t remember. He had enough time to take a shower, get his books at the admin, then get fifteen minutes for breakfast.   
With all due honesty, Adrien wasn’t that bad a person to share a bathroom with. He kept his things to the left side, while Micah got the left. Adrien, unlike Simon, had never really been much to snoop into his things. He respected his personal belongings. Perhaps the only bad thing about sharing a bathroom with Adrien was that the room stank of Aldhedao.  
Aldhedao was a herb that originated from somewhere in the forests of Brazil. It was commonly used to ward off Monkshires, which were a species of size-shifting monkeys that tended to sneak into bathrooms to steal tubes of toothpaste for it to consume- fluorine gave them an addictive high that caused them to float around, giddy with laughter. It gave off an extremely strong stench of blood, which caused Micah’s nose to twitch uncontrollably and the tips of his fangs to unpreventably protrude from his gums.  
Pulling off his clothes, he quickly stepped into the shower for a quick bath, letting the water run down his back. As soon as he finished lathering himself in soap and washing it all off, he stepped back out, tied a towel around his waist and brushed his teeth. It was as simple as that- wake up, take a shower, mentally blame himself for never sleeping properly (thus, his back pains never faded), brush his teeth and run all the way to Gryffin Hall for a quick breakfast.   
Running down the path to the building with his backpack in his right hand. He passed a few of his friends (Faithan Behvieve wasn’t exactly a friend but he still yelled out a good morning and a “Sorry! Can’t stop I’m late for breakfast!”) as he ran down the stone paths past the side of Aloysius hall, the tennis court, pool number 2, and the archery ranges. The front doors of Gryffin Hall were already open- they were set to open automatically (Magic? Machinery? Where was the fun in knowing everything, anyways) at five every morning, when the Fickens (Fish-Chickens, which took up the shallower parts of the lake) started to crow and… Gobble? Was that a good word to describe the sound?  
“Morning,” he greeted, grinning as he took a seat next to James Whittle, the frontliner of his Lahey team.   
“Morning Micah,” Jade Willow said, through a mouthful of what seemed to be haggis.  
“Is that haggis?” he frowned.   
“Haggis is literally her middle name,” Callista, James’ twin sister, said. “She eats nothing but it. Your Scottish side is showing, Jade,”  
“Haggis is great,” the pink-haired girl replied.  
James reached over the blue plastic cafeteria table, where the four of them sat, to try and steal a piece of toast from his sister’s plate. She whacked his hand away, kicking him from under the table. He left with his plate to get toast from one of the buffet tables at the left side of the cafeteria.  
Micah put a large spoon of cornflake cereal into his mouth.   
“Morning guys,” Darwin Evans said, taking the vacant seat between Micah, where James had previously sat at. He carried a big bowl of mini croissants and cream. “Guess what?”  
“What?” Jayde asked.  
“I got a new roommate. He’s cute. His names Charles Donaghue,”  
“Wait- I wanna see what he looks like,” Callista said. “Point him out,”   
“He’s right at the doors. Can you see him? Blue eyes. Brown hair. Oh shit- he’s waving at me- he saw me,”  
Micah turned to face the entrance of the cafeteria, where the big glass doors with intricate designs of creatures engraved stood. A boy, with brown hair and blue eyes stood, with piercing blue eyes and a wide smile. He had a dimple on his right cheek. Honestly… He looked- well, ordinary.  
“Can he sit with us?” Darwin asked.  
“Sure,” Micah said. “What do you guys think?”  
Jayde nodded rather enthusiastically, while Callista just shrugged. (Micah assumed she didn’t find him as cute as Darwin said) (it was true, though- Charles looked nothing special)  
Darwin waved him over.   
Over at the buffet table, James was still waiting in line to get to his toast, and it seemed that there was a huge pile of Natto (Some sort of bean? It smelt funny. Micah had never wanted to try it out) on his plate. Toast and Natto didn’t sound like it would taste well together, yet James had always had weird tastes in everything from food to clothes. That day, he was wearing a checkered red shirt with green jeans, which clashed greatly. He pouted at Micah as he watched Charles take the seat between Callista and Darwin. Micah rolled his eyes at the boy.  
“’Ello,” Charles said. “I’m Charlie,”  
“Hey Charlie,” Darwin said. “This is Jade- she’s friendly, most of the time. Plus points for the fact that she’s single, by the way. This is Callista- she has anger and attitude problems, but well, she’s pretty and it makes up for it most of the time. And this is Micah, also known as the school’s pretty boy,”  
“Can’t argue with that,” Micah said. “Lovely to meet you, Charles,”  
Callista’s cheeks flushed red. “I don’t have anger or attitude problems, Darwin,” There was a slight warning to her voice.   
“It’s alright, even if you do,” Charles said. “I’m not the most mannered person around either,” He turned to face Jade. “You’re Jade, I assume? The single one?”  
Biting back a laugh as the blonde girl turned beet red, Micah turned to the large, glowing clock which was hung on the wall above the glass doors. The long hand was only inches away from number 6. He had to get going soon- it was nearly time for History of the Blessed. Micah quickly bid his goodbyes to his teammates (and Charles), slung his bag over his right shoulder, shoved what was left of his toast into his mouth, before running out of the building and taking a right turn once (he nearly choked), and once again when he stood in front of the Archery ranges (he started coughing wildly and it took him nearly a minute to stop).   
Aloysius Hall was right behind Gryffin Hall- and over three times as tall. According to his digimap, which he held in his hands, his history class was on the third floor. The year before, it had been on the ninth floor. It was better, actually, that it had been moved to a lower floor. He wouldn’t be late.  
To ensure that all students had just enough time to not get marked late in their attendance charts, they had five minutes to get to their next classes, excluding their first ones of each day. If they had a class at 9, they had until 5 minutes past nine before they were marked as late (an L) on the charts. If they were 10 minutes, it was marked as a SL (slightly late). Fifteen minutes marked a ML (mega late). Any more than that marked an absent on their charts; five of those red A’s on a chart resulted in a month’s worth of detention- Micah wondered how many years of detention Adrien had got throughout the years. (it wasn’t even exactly like Adrien even attended them) (Carys Morgan and Amina Chibudom had soft spots for heroes)  
Andrea sat in their usual seat in the second to the last row in the classroom. There were 40 tables in the room, which seated 3 students each. Most days, 6 tables were left unoccupied. She cast him a brief glance, before looking back down at the textbook which was spread open in front of her.  
“Hullo,” He said.  
“We aren’t partners this year,” Andrea said. “The admin lady switched it up,”  
His jaw fell. “What? We’ve been partners for seven years. This is our eight together,”  
“I know. I-“ Andrea took in a deep breath, looking him in the eye. He tried his best to keep his cheeks from being tinged with red. “I don’t like the idea of it either, Micah. I like being partners with you. I’ve gotten used to it. But at least I’m with Marcus, and you’re with a boy named Charles Donaghue. I met him yesterday- he seems nice,”  
His blood ran cold. “You’re with Marcus?”  
At the mention of his brother, he couldn’t help but feel severely annoyed. Rule number three- no flirting with any of his roommates, especially Andrea Paige. He knew Marcus was going to flirt with Andrea, ignoring that rule. Micah knew too, that he wouldn’t actually try and get with her but the idea of his brother; who knew he had a crush on Andrea Paige, for nearly eight years, would flirt with her made his blood boil and his heart twinge with betrayal.   
He too knew that he wasn’t supposed to feel annoyed at Charles, who definitely had not a say in how the partner thing was set up, but he couldn’t help but want to punch that boy right in the face. Micah was being reasonable- he definitely was. After all, he had just lost a year of staying up at night with Andrea Paige to do homework until ungodly hours. That was definitely reasonable; something that he had a right to feel extremely strongly about.   
“We could still hang out right? After classes, at Murray’s?” she offered.  
True, they could, but it wouldn’t be the same.  
“Doesn’t matter,” he hadn’t realized how sharp his tone had sounded until Andrea had flinched a little. “Sorry- I mean we could. I know Charlie. He does seem nice,”  
The professor walked into the room. Professor Reese, also known as Professor Peanut Butter Cups, was taller than most of the students and staff, standing at 7’1. He wore thick glasses, and he was deathly pale that he could nearly compare to Steve, Gryffin Hall’s ghost.  
“Take your seats,” he grumbled in a tired voice. “Find the pages yourself- we’re talking about the founders of Wayvern. The index exists for a reason,”  
Micah took his seat in the table on the left of Andrea’s, not even bothering to pull his textbook out of his backpack. It wasn’t as if Professor Reese was going to care either. He rested his head in between his crossed arms, squeezing his eyes shut.  
“Professor,” A voice he recognized as belonging to that one student from district 4 who never shut up in classes. “Didn’t we go over that last year? And the year before?”  
“Be quiet, don’t back talk. If any of you have bothered finding the page, let’s begin,”  
“Sorry I’m late. I got lost,” Micah looked up to see Charles at the doorway.  
He couldn’t help but let out a groan as he sat back up properly.  
Not a second later, his brother burst into the room, sweat dripping down the sides of his face.  
“I’m sorry- sir,” Marcus said, in between gasps of air. “Sorry- there were these- giant hornets, chasing me. I had to- I had to take the other path past the med-hut,”  
Professor Reese didn’t reply- all eyes were on the two boys.   
“The four founders of Wayvern- the four original Elementals. Fire, Water, Air and Earth- don’t just stand there, you fools. Take your seats. Stupid eight years and hornets,” he grumbled. “They were the four who built the school, from nothing else than just sweat, blood and tears. However, one of the other Elementals were not mentioned- Aether.  
“Aether; they were the original Element, which was later split into four. It was the most powerful, most dangerous, out of them all. Only a few hundred years ago, the discovery of Aether elementals first occurred. The first one ever recorded in history, was Edith the Great, the first out of the five elementals.  
“Edith was the most powerful elemental, or mage, recorded. She could make the earth tremble, by simply pressing her palm against the ground. She could summon gigantic waves, thousands of kilometers away from sea. Henry Jones, the second, however, was not quite as powerful. In fact, he was one of the least powerful Elementals recorded in history. After him, was Mariam Buster, followed by Artyom Svarvoski, and lastly, by Harriet Smimov.”  
“Elementals, as we know, are only here to save the world. Harriet did not exactly fall into the category, of a hero. She was the one who led to the first revolution of the vampires- the blood thirsty,”  
Micah tensed in his seat.  
When he turned to face Charles, to see if he had noticed, he realized that Charles wasn’t even awake at all. He had fallen asleep, with his arms stretched out on the table, and his cheek pressed against the cold surface. Micah couldn’t help but feel awkward, pushing his chair slightly away to give the boy more space.  
Andrea, on the other hand, was hastily writing notes on her notebook- another new one. Micah could’ve sworn that last year’s hadn’t even been filled. He wondered if she had kept it, or if she had thrown it away. They had an entire year of written conversations on the back of it. Had it meant nothing to her? Her grey eyes looked up at him for a moment, before he quickly turned away.  
“Now, the reason we’re repeating everything about the Elementals again is because we’ve found the last heroes. Two of them sit in this very room, their names embedded in history,” Micah noticed that Andrea looked uncomfortable when the eyes turned to face them. “One of you recite the prophecy for me, won’t you?”  
“I’ll do it,” the district three student from earlier said.  
“The Last Heroes  
Two brothers bound by family, yet not by blood  
The greatest mage, to ever come  
One shall go down, in history, or in war  
Another shall bite, yet never once fall  
When the wind isn’t calm, the waters aren’t safe  
And Aether still stands, the greatest of them all”  
“Thank you, Mr Stevens,” Professor Reese said. “If it wasn’t obvious enough, the two brothers are Simon Jayde and Adrien Jayde. I hope they don’t mind me saying one of them’s adopted, but well, everyone pretty much knows. The greatest mage- we don’t know if they’re referring to Willa Edwards, or if to another hero. One shall go down, in history, or in war. Now that, we just have to hope that that one just ends up in history with everyone else,”  
No matter how many time he had heard the prophecy, it still made his blood run cold. The idea of one of them dying just didn’t sit right with Micah at all. They had grown up together- they knew each other better than everyone else did. Simon was his best friend. Adrien was like a distant older brother. And Andrea- well, it was complicated.  
Sometimes, in the world, there were things that were worse than just getting addicted to someone. There were times where that person became more of you than you were of yourself. They became your very existence, your purpose of living and breathing- everything you hoped you would get at the very end. That was who Andrea was for him- just a little bit more than everything.  
“Another shall bite, yet never once fall. I assume that this one means that one of you guys may turn your back against one another, like Viyana did to her fellow heroes, Edith, the last Aether elemental, and Martha, the last fire elemental. Well, let’s just hope you defy the prophecy, because it’ll be bad if you don’t fall. When the wind isn’t calm, the waters aren’t safe. Miss Paige,” Andrea shrunk even lower in her seat. “Do us all a favour, won’t you? Try to stay calm, so that Mr Edwards doesn’t follow in your footsteps and lead to all our untimely deaths,”  
Noticing the fact that Andrea had seemed even more uncomfortable, as the eyes still hadn’t turned away, Micah reached under the table to squeeze her hand tightly. She squeezed back. Her hand was warm, compared to his. Micah let go of her hand.  
Although the four of them had all been raised since they were six as heroes, none of them had exactly gotten used to being one. For Micah, it all had begun when his parents’ found the outline of a heart in black on the back of his neck. All the Blessed knew well enough that sudden markings on skin weren’t something to brush off- they had marked some of the most important people in history.  
The heart- the lover. The person that held the group together, the one that the others turned to at their worsts. Andrea had one in the shape of crossed spears- the protector, who shielded others from harm. Simon’s- a sword; the defender, who fought back against the people who tried to hurt them. Willa’s- an infinity sign; the symbol for everything and eternity. Lastly, Adrien’s was in the shape of Asclepius’ staff, with a snake coiled around it- the healer.  
In a way, it was ironic. Adrien, who needed to heal most, yet he was the one who was supposed to help others to do so.   
“And Aether still stands, the greatest of them all. It’s pretty good news to me, that it doesn’t sound like Aether’s the traitor this time. Last time it was, the earthquakes in Japan stretching to North America weren’t exactly nice. Let’s just hope whoever it is, isn’t one of the strong ones,”  
It was safe to say History of the Blessed wasn’t one of his favourite subjects.  
As soon as the bell in their classroom rang, signaling that their class was over he turned to face Andrea but he noticed that she was talking to Marcus. The envy at the bottom of his stomach pooled, though he knew he wasn’t supposed to feel jealous. Marcus wouldn’t dare- would he?”  
Suddenly, Andrea turned to face him. “We have Lahey after break. Do you want to go to Murray’s?”   
He nodded at her, as his eyes met his brother’s. “Do you want to come along, Marcus?”  
Micah hoped that his brother would get the hint.   
“No thanks,” Marcus said. “I have tennis after break. I’d rather get something at the vending machine,”  
When the three of them got up, and Micah had spared a glance at the boy who was still asleep next to him (Charles looked at peace- he decided not to wake him up), Andrea reached under the table to grab her backpack. Micah took the chance to mouth a silent ‘thank you’ to his brother, to which he acknowledged with a small nod. He grabbed his backpack, holding it in his left arm as Andrea quickly bid her goodbyes to Marcus.  
“Have you gone over to Coach Vi’s?” Andrea asked.  
Micah shook his head. “Haven’t a chance. I’ll see her after break anyways,”  
“Alright. Congratulations, by the way. You’re captain of one of the best Lahey school teams in the world,” she gave him a small smile.  
He flashed her a wide grin- the rest of the short elevator ride was silent, except for the other seven students who stood at the fronter area, talking in excited voices.  
When they finally stepped outside, Micah took in a breath of fresh air. Andrea stopped in her tracks.  
“I’m assistant captain,” he couldn’t fight off his smile. “I wasn’t going to tell you that until later, but I felt like you were supposed to know,”  
The Badgers were renown for their offense line- specifically, for Andrea herself. She was one of the youngest players in the world signed by an Olympics team- specifically, the Stellars. The prevailing captain was none other than Lilith Grey. Lilith had grown up in one of the poorest suburbs in Tokyo, and climbed her way all up to the top, winning the greatest amount of gold medals in Lahey sports history. In a way, she was a sports legend herself, at a ripe age of 28.  
Andrea deserved to be Badgers’ captain more than everyone else he knew, except perhaps Adrien. Heck, Adrien deserved to be the assistant while Andrea was the captain. As long as the two were on court together, there was simply no way the team they were playing against were winning. It was odd that Lilith hadn’t signed Adrien too. Micah couldn’t figure out why.  
“Are you excited?” he asked.  
“For what?”  
“Last year Coach Dee told us we were gonna have a match against Milliards and Hai Di,”  
“Hai Di? That’s the public school in Zhu Hai, Guangdong, right?” Andrea looked away to hide a smile for a moment.  
“Yeah,” he pressed his palm against the cold surface of the main glass doors of Aloysius hall, which made them slide open. “Why’re you smiling?”  
“I might get to meet Stellan,”  
Once again, Micah couldn’t help but feel his blood run cold. He had never heard the name Stellan before- was it a boy Andrea was seeing out of school? If she was… Wouldn’t she have mentioned it to him? Wasn’t he one of her closest friends?   
“Whose Stellan?” he tried his best to not sound bitter. “You’ve never mentioned him to me before,”  
“He’s a friend. Uncle Matteo and Cassimir are planning to adopt him,” she grinned. “You’ve met them before, in fourth year,”  
To hear Andrea even mention fourth year made him smile- even proud, actually. A year ago, she refused to acknowledge that that year at all, pretending that it hadn’t existed. Micah understood; some things in the past were hard to heal from, and it wasn’t how long they took to do so that mattered. It was the fact that they one day eventually would that did.  
“I remember them. Matteo thought I was Henry John. We don’t even look alike,” Micah laughed.   
“Actually you do,” Andrea laughed. “Well, he looks more like Marcus. But you look like Marcus. So you guys do look like each other. Henry John’s just shorter,”  
“He’s short,”  
“He’s friendly,”  
Andrea took a right turn once, and they walked in silence for a moment before she took a right turn once again. She stopped in front of the doors of the coffee shop and held them open for Micah to walk in first. He thanked her.   



	8. micah william edwards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY; Lahey practice. Micah’s hanging out at their court because the others are playing a practice match. On the other end of the court, there’s the Halley twins, Jade, Darwin and James.

EIGHT - MICAH   
“Do you believe in a life after death, Micah?”   
The moment the sentence left the boy’s lips, Micah knew Andrea must’ve said something to him. Adrien- he was the type of person to say whatever came in mind. But much unlike others who did speak their mind like he did, his thoughts always made sense; too much sense, actually. Still, for some reason, he didn’t feel upset towards Andrea for telling Adrien about their conversation earlier.   
“I do,” Micah said.  
“Do you believe,” Adrien turned his head to look at him with a bored look on his face. “That every life we live, we’re getting closer to the one with the ending that we truly deserve?”  
“I can only hope,”   
It was around a quarter of an hour into their Lahey practice, yet not once had Micah even gotten a chance to step foot inside a goal. His helmet laid at his side, with his gloves tucked in, long forgotten. Suddenly, the other group who weren’t involved in the practice match either, seemed interesting to watch.   
Micah tried his best to avoid Adrien’s eyes, despite the fact that the boy laid right next to him, on the moist grass. Andrea, on the other hand, stood in front of the goal, lost in her own thoughts. She held her Lahey racquet tightly in her left hand. He couldn’t figure out what she was thinking. The fingers of her right hand were tightly gripping onto a Lahey ball.   
“Do you believe Natalia’s out there, living her best life, the one where she’s going to get her happy ending?”  
He didn’t reply- he didn’t know how to,”  
“I know you know,” Adrien took in a deep breath. “I know a lot of things you think I don’t,”  
But really, what was there even to know about him?   
His biggest secret?  
That was ridiculous; his family had made sure nobody would ever find out.  
“I don’t want to know, Adrien,” Micah lied. “I don’t want to know what happened in your past that made you feel the way you do. I don’t, unless you tell me. And I really hope you don’t. Because that means I’ll have to have your back the way you do mine,”  
“You’re afraid,” A smile tugged on Adrien’s lips. “You’re afraid,”  
There wasn’t anything to be afraid of. What happened, did. It had been five years since his sister had killed herself. Nearly six, actually. December 8 marked her death. It had been too long- too long, not to have gotten over it. Natalia would have wanted everyone to have gotten over her death as soon as it was possible. He wouldn’t go against her wishes.  
Micah couldn’t understand why Adrien was smiling. It wasn’t making sense at all. He glanced at Andrea, hoping she would interrupt them any moment then, but she was still lost in her own little world in her head. Only, she was then pacing back and forth, away and closer to the goal like she was trying to think of a new strategy. It wasn’t something new- all of the players who had seen her during practices knew that was her thing.  
“I’m not afraid. Some things are just better left unknown,”  
“You’re afraid that you’re one of the reasons Natalia killed herself,” Micah didn’t understand how Adrien sounded as if he was talking about something- or someone, else than his dead sister. “You’re afraid that the blame’s on you,”  
He had always had a way of making the biggest things sound so small.  
“I’m not,” he tried his best not to raise his voice at the boy.  
“My parents- they were drug addicts. You knew that. My father was an alcoholic too. My mother ran the meth lab-“  
“Why are you telling me this?”   
“Just shut up and listen. They weren’t good people. They were fucked in the head, not in their right minds to have a kid nonetheless two. What I’m trying to say is, Micah, Natalia’s death wasn’t your fault or Marcus’- or any of your family’s, for that matter,”  
Micah’s throat ran dry.  
“There are bigger things in life than eleven year old boys who didn’t do anything to save their sister’s life. There are bigger things than eleven year old boys not seeing the signs. You were eleven. And it wasn’t your fault. But of course, you’re not the one who needs to hear that, am I right? It’s Marcus. But you blame yourself for the fact that he does himself. You’re afraid that it was your fault that he blames himself,”  
He let out a bitter laugh that sounded raspy. “How on earth would it be my fault?”  
“You’re his little brother. Figure it out,” He got up to his feet, reaching out a hand to Micah just like Micah had to him, only hours before, in the early mornings. “You make mistakes in life. You hurt people you love, sometimes in ways that they’ll never heal from. But the fact that you hurt them isn’t always what matters most,”  
Micah ignored his hand. “Then what does?”  
“You’re a smart guy. Figure it out,”


	9. simon jayde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY; He finds out Aristotle is his partner.  
> (tw!! implied use of the f slur [the one used against people from the lgbtq+ community, originally against gay men if I'm not mistaken] and also homophobia!!)

NINE - SIMON   
He could hear aristotle’s heart racing in his chest. Simon wondered what Aristotle was thinking about.  
There were ten things in life that Simon Jayde hated most.  
No. 10- Wearing socks  
Socks were annoying. They felt weird on his feet and they just never went well with most outfits. Sure, they kept his shoes clean on the inside but… It felt weird. They made him feel like he had webbed feet. The only decent socks in existence were seamless socks and it was rare that they matched whatever he was wearing.  
No. 9- His father  
To be fair, maybe he should have been number ten. He hated his father with passion, though not enough to be number one. True, his father had left him when he was three but he was getting pretty irrelevant over the years; as if he had ever been any relevant at all. And it was boring trying to find new reasons to hate him more, so that Simon could pin his life’s misery on his father.  
No. 8- His brother  
Adrien was annoying. And he was a jerk. Earlier that morning, he had locked Simon in the bathroom for no apparent reason after shoving him roughly against the sink (there was then a big, ugly purple bruise on the side of his stomach). There was probably nothing else in the world that joyed his older brother more than bothering him. Simon hated him too- it was mutual. Especially since he wouldn’t stop blaring his rock music at five in the morning. It wasn’t a nice thing to wake up to on weekdays, weekends, or any day of the week.  
No. 7- Quinn  
His ex-best friend.  
Nothing else to say.  
No. 6- Louis Travers  
His first boyfriend.  
Also nothing to say.  
No. 5- Cold soup  
It was disgusting. Especially if it was some sort of thick soup like mushroom or pumpkin soup. It made Simon feel as if he was drinking swamp water with a lot of mud in it that tasted like mushrooms. Or pumpkin.   
Perhaps the actual reason he started hating soup was because his mother forced him to eat it whenever he was sick. And her soups… weren’t particularly good tasting- at all. Isla Jayde had never been quite known for her cooking in their household; Adrien did most of the cooking. Simon wondered what she and Lylou ate when Adrien wasn’t there to cook. Probably McDonalds. Or Hungry Jacks.  
No. 4- Aristotle Damien Edwards  
There was too long a list to why he hated Aristotle. First of all, he had never failed to give Simon grief for his sexuality. Second, Aristotle would never fail to make fun of him for wearing nail polish. Or skirts. Or liking fashionable things. It was stupid- it wasn’t as if his cousin Henry wasn’t gay (but shh- he wasn’t out yet) (not like everybody knew about cedric, his boyfriend, already). Or that Marcus had a tendency of wearing nail polish (and eyeliner when Mary Lou managed to pin him down long enough). Or that little Wayne preferred skirts over pants.   
No. 3- The Vampires  
Had it not been for them, he probably wouldn’t have been born a hero. And if he wasn’t a hero, he could’ve had a 100% chance of settling down and marrying Lyla. He could’ve opened that boutique somewhere in Paris, France, with a coffee shop across the street where he could’ve taken her out for dates every weekend, along with whatever number of kids they would have. Or none, if she had changed her mind about wanting them. Whatever- he guessed he could just get random kids from the street and dress them up in pretty dresses.   
No- it wasn’t kidnapping.  
It was just… Borrowing.  
No. 2- Physics  
Just because someone was good at math, it didn’t necessarily mean they were good at physics too. It was the nth time he had failed the exams the year before. He assumed it wasn’t going to be the last. Adrien had beat him by exactly one point- he had gotten 60, the passing-mark, while Simon had gotten 59.   
No. 1- People who did not respect boundaries.  
Simon hated them. HATED them, in big, bold, capital letters. Why couldn’t they just respect his yesses and no’s and leave him alone? It wasn’t hard to do at all.  
He did not like waking up to find out he was paired to none other than number 4 himself.  
Lists- Simon liked them. He loved them. They were neat. They were good for listing out ideas and things to do and just well- everything. If he had a piece of paper right then and there, he would’ve listed down every little thing he hated about Aristotle and why Carys was to change his partner. He could and would not stand an hour in the same room with that boy. How did she expect him to stay partners with him for a year?  
“No, Lyla,” he said exasperatedly. “It’s not going to be fine. I’m with Aristotle Edwards. You know what he’s done to me,”  
“He doesn’t mean to be that mean, Seung. Give him a chance,”  
“I’ve gave him plenty. He’s been so fucked since he got back in fourth year. Gods, I wished he stayed away,”  
She shot him a dirty glare. “Watch your mouth. Don’t say that,”  
“Why not?” he groaned. “He’s treated me like shit. You hear the names he calls me. You know he broke my sewing machine,”  
“He changed after he left. Something awful could’ve happened. He’s turned into someone else. And you don’t have proof that he broke it,”  
“Exactly, Lyla. He’s turned into someone else- also, you and I know that broke it,”  
“You’re missing the entire point. Something happened to him. And he’s not okay,”  
“You don’t know that. He could just be an asshole with no absolute reason to be mean to me,”  
Lyla sighed loudly. “Whatever, Simon,”  
“Don’t you dare walk away from me,”  
She did.  
-  
Simon ran all the way over to Gryffin Hall on his own.  
Growing up, Carys- the headmistress, had always been like a second mother to him, a replacement for his missing father figure. Arthur on the other hand, hated him with a passion Simon could never understand. Simon had once considered himself very much lucky that Carys (not Arthur) was in charge of assigning partners and approving schedule requests. He didn’t exactly feel that way then.  
The headmaster and headmistress’ office were on the highest floor of Gryffin Hall, surrounded by other staff offices and student council offices. Both were at the end of the hallway, white wooden doors next to each other, rooms separated by a thick wall of white brick. It was lucky they didn’t share an office; Carys would have to deal with Arthur complaining about the students all day long.  
He ran all the way up the stairs to the third floor, his chest heaving with each heavy breath. Sweat dribbled down Simon’s forehead. Once he reached the third floor, he let himself take a small break- his hands on his knees and just enough time for him to breathe.   
Simon hadn’t expected to see Aristotle right in front of Carys’ office, with his hands crossed in front of his chest. Aristotle looked bored- his platinum blonde hair falling in front of his eyes. When their eyes met as Simon walked over as coolly as he could (not so cool, since he was still slightly panting), the boy gave him a bored, unamused look.  
“I tried. Believe me,” Aristotle said.  
Aristotle had said it in such a way that it made him seem like he was the one stuck with someone who gave him the worst moments of his life. Simon had rarely ever done anything- it wasn’t as if he was strong enough to. And after everything Adrien and Lylou had gone through in the hands of parents who had physically hurt them over and over, he would never dream of doing the same. He wouldn’t be like them.  
“Oh fuck off- I’m not the one stuck with your homophobic ass,”  
Aristotle grimaced- Simon didn’t understand why. “I’m not homophobic,”  
“Didn’t you call me a f-“  
The moment the word was about to leave his lips, Aristotle pushed Carys’ door open and ducked back in.  
Of course; in all their arguments and fights, right as Simon was about to say something about how much grief Aristotle had given him and him only for Simon’s sexuality, he would walk away. Like he was afraid. A coward, truly, he was, with all bark and no bite. They had once been friends; they fell out much without reason other than Aristotle hating his guts the moment he had come back from his two and a half-year break.  
He often wondered if they would’ve still stayed friends if Aristotle hadn’t changed- or if they would have been more than that.


	10. adrien jayde

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> SUMMARY; it’s right after practice and he meets casey jayde. she introduces herself to him  
> (tw!! implied abuse [in a relationship] but not detailed, only hinted!!)

TEN - ADRIEN   
Adrien wiped the sweat off his forehead.  
Only three of the fourth years had made it onto the team- Keiko, Willow Reeves and Samuel Tamson. A number had actually tried out for the team, though only they made it through. The Greyhounds desperately needed someone who could replace Erica and Jameela who were leaving by the second semester, having had been recruited by one of the official Lahey sports team of the country.   
Samuel had shown potential in both offense and defense, earning him a spot as one of the midliners. He was twelve, yet he had managed to beat the many other older students fighting for the spot on the team. Their team coach, Delilah Keita, had agreed to let Kevin Paige- a former player for the Greyhounds, back onto the team. Two years back, he had been honorably discharched from the team after initiating a rather physical fight with the coach herself.   
There would have been losses and wins either way by letting Kevin back onto the team. He was hot tempered- even more so than Jameela, yet she only got upset for valid reasons. Kevin had a tendency of starting fights just for the pure sake of stirring trouble. If Dee hadn’t let him back onto the team, however, they would have lost one of the best midliners Wayvern had ever seen, next to Andrea.   
Dee had heard that there were scouts from the Stellars; the Olympics team that had recruited Andrea, coming to look for more people to recruit for their future team. As soon as the people they picked were sixteen, they would train as hard as possible for the future Olympics they were taking part in. Andrea had just been a special case, seeing as she was a hero. The Fates- also known as the Moirai, always got the final say in everything the Heroes did. It wasn’t fun but it wasn’t as if they ever had a say.  
Adrien looked down at the list of players for the Greyhounds team that year he had jotted down while Dee was announcing who made the team and who had not.

members 2058-2059:  
connor whittle (offense)   
andrea paige (midliner)  
george watson (defense)  
edwina edith edwards (defense)  
essie ryver (goalkeeper)  
alexis wu (offense)  
tamara richards (midliner)  
hwang mei hua (defense)  
tania halley (defense)  
adrien jayde (defense)  
jameela janan (offense)  
kevin paige (midliner)  
samuel tamson (midliner)  
erica zacharias (defense)  
freya (offense)  
keiko (goalkeeper)  
ian halley (goalkeeper)  
willow reeves (goalkeeper)

coach: 'dee' delilah keita  
captain: adrien jayde  
co-captain: andrea paige   
total: 18  
defense: 6  
offense: 4  
goalie: 4  
midliner: 4   
It wasn’t exactly bad, though it could have been better.  
Adrien pressed his back against the cold surface of the plexi-glass walls surrounding the court. Most of his teammates were headed to their other classes- he caught a glimpse of Andrea walking off the Crows’ court with Micah next to her. Andrea didn’t have much to worry about- she had a definite future set in front of her. She had a place on the court that no one could take away whilst he had only until his last year to stand on it unless he could find another Olympics team to recruit him.  
It wouldn’t be the same, on another Olympics team without Andrea, no matter how good it was. He knew that. They had been a team; inseperable, for as long as they had known each other. Andrea ran with the ball- he made sure nobody would try to steal it from her. It did hurt sometimes, getting hit on his chest plate during attempts to slow him down, yet it was all worth it. Andrea was fast enough to run across the entire soccer-field sized court in twenty seconds and it wasn’t as if anyone could compare to her aim.   
Lilith Grey, the first female captain of the Stellars, had taken one glance at him and never looked back. It bruised his ego a little, true, but by then, he had learned not to take any offense when somebody found no interest at him. Adrien’s sports file had his entire life story written typed out- his entire ‘tragic’, as many called, past for everyone and anyone who was scouting to see. The idea of recruiting someone with such an ugly past wasn’t exactly a good thing to do for an Olympics sports team. It ruined their image and their players would often try to avoid the player.   
When Adrien looked up from the piece of paper, he noticed that a girl was looking at him. He was about to ignore her when she waved at him- he didn’t know who she was. Dark hair. Green eyes. Pink highlights. She was wearing a Crows uniform; if she played, wouldn’t he have seen her earlier? Perhaps she had skipped out.  
“Hi,” she said. “You’re Adrien Jayde, right? Wait- I mean- I know you are. It just seemed like the right thing to ask. I’ve seen you play. You’re really good. I’m Casey Jayde- or Cassandra, I guess. Both works,”  
“Yeah. That’s me. You play for the Crows?”  
She nodded, looking down at him. “I’m new to Lahey. I don’t understand why they made me captain, honestly. Haru deserved it more- or Micah Edwards, but don’t tell Haru I said that. He’d get all hurt and everything, even if I just compliment anyone else, no matter if they’re a girl, guy or neither. It’s stupid,”  
“Haru’s your boyfriend, right?”  
Cassandra took a seat across of him, tangling her hands in the grass. Her eyes were focused on a yellow flower that was a few inches away from her hand. Adrien looked down at the flower- it was nothing special. He couldn’t figure out why she was staring at it.  
“Yeah. I know a lot of people don’t like him but he’s a good person. He’s just mean sometimes, I guess. But he’s nice. Like really nice. I don’t understand why people say he’s a jerk,” she let out an awkward laugh. “Once you get to know him, he’s pretty sweet. You’d like him,”  
She covered her mouth with her hand and looked away for a moment as if she were looking around to see if someone were there. Then she turned back to him, her eyes once again trained on the flower. Odd. She sounded overly defensive of him.  
“Have we met before?” Adrien said, in a weak attempt to change the subject seeing how uncomfortable she was.  
“Yeah. We’ve talked before, actually. A few years back,”  
He hadn’t expected that answer. Surely, if they had, he would’ve remembered at least her name. Adrien looked up at her to see if he recognized her at all- he didn’t. It was surprising that he didn’t remember her at all; usually, he remembered at least the first name of people he talked to. He didn’t talk to many at all so it wasn’t hard to keep track of.  
“I don’t think we have,” Adrien said. “I think I would’ve remembered your name,”  
For a moment, she froze and got back up to her feet, her eyes trained behind him. “Nevermind. I’ve got to go- I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll text you on the Digimap. And I’ll text Germaine too. She sounds absoloutely lovely, truly,”  
He nodded at her.  
When he turned around, he was Haruto Akira glaring at him and Cassandra. Their eyes met for a moment and Haruto immediately smiled at him, though the irritance hadn’t exactly left his dark eyes. Adrien turned back away from him to see that the girl was already in front of the transparent doors, desperately trying to get it to open.  
“Slide it up then to the left,” Adrien suggested, loudly enough for her to hear.  
She gave him a forced smile, still looking anxiously back and forth behind him.   
Adrien wished he saw the signs and understood them as early as then.


	11. micah william edwards

in progress!


End file.
